#12 Elementary Repertoire - Updated 01/16
- Age Level Songs----Ballads (list)----Beginning of Year Songs----Boys----Call Response Songs----Camp Songs----Christmas/Winter----Free Songs
- Echo Songs--------Favorite Songs----General Repertoire---- (For "Graduation," see Program Ideas I (A-M))----Graduation
- Grieving ----Healing, Tragedy----Heroes----Inner City School----Lullabies----Multicultural ----Music Folder
- Musicals (Note: for Christmas musicals see: Holidays)
- Musicals for Lower Elementary----Musicals for Upper Elementary
- High School Musicals----Orff Songs, Ideas, Instruments, etc., ----Piggyback Songs, web site----Sign Language Songs
- Songs Eliminating Words----Star Spangled Banner (ideas)----Songs Children Should Know before 7th Grade----Train Songs----Websites
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AGE LEVEL REPERTOIRE
12/11 MUSICPLAY 5 has the following songs: Concentration, Little Tommy Tinker, Ickle Ockle, Four White Horses ,Button You Must Wander, Alabama Gal ,Ronald MacDonald, Ghost of Tom, Green Sally Up, Old Maid, George Washington Bridge, Hot Potato, Cobbler, Chumbara, Deep and Wide, I am Slowly Going Crazy, John Kanaka, Drunken Sailor, Waddally Acha, I Let Her Go, Ball Go Round ,We Love to Sing, Our Old Sow, Charley Marley, Al Citron, Haida, Funga Alafia
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When I first came to this land.... just about any cumulative song.
The Cat came back
The Rattlin' Bog
The third graders are really " in -be'tween'-agers" in disguise. They love the repetition that the Kinders - 2 love (the same ole melody over and over), but they also like learning new things (a new addition to each verse takes care of this). - Contributed by Patricia AlbrittonBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************BALLADS (list)
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Sweet Betsy from Pike, Streets of Laredo,
One Tin Soldier, Don Gato, The Ghost Ship by Don Besig & Nancy Price,
Ballad of Johnny Appleseed in Music K8 (vol 9 #1), Frog Went A-Courting, Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill, When I First Came to This Land, Log Driver's WaltzBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************BEGINNING OF YEAR SONGS
09/03 SOUND OFF!!
Come on in and have some fun (they echo that phrase)
Music class has just begun
(they echo that phrase)
Time to sing and dance and play (students echo)
Music class with Mrs. Oeste (they echo, by the way, my name rhymes with play...)
Sound off (echo)
Together: Huh, Huh, Huh (SIT)
And then they sit down together!-Contributed by Patty Conway
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08/02 (Patti Kolk) I think the Welcome to Pooh Corner is a wonderful idea to start off the year.I would like to share with you a variation of the traditional children's jump rope teddy bear chant that I modified to fit in with Pooh.In case you're not familiar with the original version which is chanted at a moderate tempo:Teddy Bear Teddy bear touch the ground
Teddy Bear Teddy bear turn around
Teddy Bear Teddy bear climb up the stairs
Teddy Bear Teddy bear say your prayers.
Teddy Bear Teddy bear turn off the light
Teddy Bear Teddy bear say good night.I don't remember the exact lines - and motions accompanied each line.Sometimes I have come across children who know this chant and are excited to share some of the motions with their new classmates.
I ask the children if Pooh would be a fast runner, and most laugh at that question. Then, I suggest maybe it's hard for Pooh to move quickly because he loves his honey pot. So I begin the Pooh version by myself showing how slowly Pooh might move. Then I invite the children to mimic me and begin the chant all over again. Of course I have a small beanie type Pooh who does the movements with me.
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear touch the ground
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear turn around
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear reach up high
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear makes a sigh (oh bother)
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear where's your honeypot
Pooh Bear Pooh Bear we must stop
(I came up with more lines, but I can't remember them now)
Then each week, we would add another friend from Pooh corner to include in the chantPiglet Piglet worked well with the same lines as Pooh.Owl Owl flap your wings
Owl Owl fly to your tree
Owl Owl can you see the friends?
Owl Owl give a hoot when you do
Kanga Kanga jump up high.
Kanga Kanga hop down low.
Kanga Kanga what do you see? (place hand over eyes)
Kanga Kanga where is Roo? (shrug shoulders while hopping)
Kanga Kanga look in your pouch. (pull hands away from stomach)
The only character that I had trouble making a chant was for Christopher Robin.SO I chanted his name once instead of twice for all the verses about Pooh and the other friends.
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08/02 At first, I just do a marching beat on a large hand drum as they walk around the room. As I increase or decrease the beat, they move accordingly.One big strike is a *jump in the air*.
A fast beating in the center of the drum is *run on the spot*. (To avoid disastorous collisions, I allow them to run only on the spot, not around the room.)Once they are familiar with following the sounds of the drum, I vary the speed and the volume.
Soft, soft is *tiptoe*. Loud and strong is for *great big giant steps*.
Staggered beats is *walk and pause, walk and pause* etc.The little ones love this game and there are many benefits: They easily follow direction without zoning out on the adult voice. They easily listen to minimal verbal instruction which is simply: *no mouths, just feet*.
They learn its fun to be in music and maybe when teacher has something to say, it might be worth listening!The children enjoy this activity so much that it is usually the first thing we do in each class for many months.
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11/01 A fun way for students to mingle and learn about each other the first day of class is to play this version of musical chairs. Arrange chairs in scattered pairs, semi-facing each other. Play some upbeat music. Instruct the students that they are to mingle around the room to the music. When the music stops they must find a chair. Beforehand a poster has been displayed listing by number 12 topics for introductory discussion ie. Home life, Jobs, Hobbies, Favorite person, Favorite food etc... Now, the teacher rolls the dice and whatever subject the number corresponds to dictates what topic each pair will discuss ( they must introduce themselves to their partner before discussing ). When the music begins again they know to get up and mingle waiting for the music to stop and the next round of discussion with someone new to begin.
I made a rule that you cannot sit with someone 2 times in a class period. Also, here are my 12 discussion ideas:
1. Hobbies
2. Family
3. Pets you have or wish you had
4. Favorite food
5. Favorite famous person
6. Your house
7. Favorite thing to do at recess
8. Best friend
9. Favorite subject
10. Something new you've learned this year
11. Favorite music
12. Favorite thing about youI made an overhead of these for the students to see. I hope someone can use this! My 4-6th graders had a great time with it!
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8/01 I found it easier with the K-1 set to have the children move around the circle instead of passing the instruments. I lay out a circle of carpet squares and put one instrument on each carpet. First they practice moving clockwise around the circle one carpet at a time. Then we start the rhythm activities. I have music that starts and stops. With each stop they move one carpet to their left.
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8/01 MUSIC RULES RAP:Music's an important part of our school So in music class I follow these rules.
I don't make noise when I'm walkin' in the door. I sit up straight with my feet on the floor.
I raise my hand when I have something to say. But I don't say it 'till the teacher looks my way.
I never talk to classmates without permission. I follow directions and always listen.
I never touch the instruments until it's my turn. That is a privilege I must earn.
I keep objects to myself, also my hands and feet. Sticks aren't for poking, they're for keeping the beat.
I never come to class with food or gum. I sing strong and clear, I don't just hum.
I show respect for my teacher, and my friends too. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
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SONGS FOR BEGINNING THE YEARROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT:
Sing, sing, sing with me, Sing out loud and clear, To tell the people everywhere, That music time is here.
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TWINKLE LITTLE STAR (Grades 1 - 2)
Welcome, welcome, everyone, Now you're here, we'll have some fun.
First we'll clap our hands just so, Then we'll bend and touch our toe.
Welcome, welcome, everyone, Now you're here, we'll have some fun.
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SHE'LL BE COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN
Oh, it's time to say goodbye to our friends, Oh, it's time to say goodbye to our friends,
Oh, it's time to say goodbye, Make a smile and wink an eye.
Oh, it's time to say goodbye to our friends.
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8/01 NAME GAME (Grades 3-6)
On the first day of trying this, the children sit in a large circle. I go to each child and ask them their first name. (Not last names, ....it's hard enough to learn just first names!) As each child tells me their name, I say "Well hello _____, How are you today" (or a similar comment). I shake their hand, or make a comment on how nice their pants are...or their sneakers etc. Then, I move on to the next child. After about the first three, I go back and say the names in order (of those whom I've met already). After adding three more, I repeat six names....then nine...then twelve etc. etcBy the time I make it around the circle, I can do all of their first names, because I've repeated them so often. After I make it around the circle, I tell them that they have until the count of 5 to tip toe to another spot on the circle. I close my eyes and they do just that. Then, the challenge is to see how many names I can still remember even though the children have relocated. usually do about 2/3 of the names then. This game takes me about 10 minutes.
(After the class leaves I immediately grab my class list. I mark down distinctive features of every child I can remember. (glasses, long hair, oriental child, etc...) Then, by their physical features - I can begin to place a name with a face. Just before the kids enter my room the following week, I review my list of names/physical features. Then, many of the children are fresh in my mind. We play the "Name Game" at the end of that 2nd class too. However, I see how many I can name without their help. For the few that I'm stuck on, I ask for their help. After class, I add to the physical features list.)
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8/01 INTRODUCE YOURSELVESEveryone in a circle, simple step-touch with snaps or claps.
Refrain: We're so glad to be at school, Let us introduce ourselves to you.
Each child then says their name (I had them do first and last) and the rest echoes the name. After each 4th child, repeat the refrain. I did this with 5th and 6th and it has always turned out to be somewhat informative: I find out who can't stay on beat, who is extroverted, who is shy, how their name is pronounced, if they go by a nickname or abbreviation of their name...
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8/01 BODY RHYTHM COPYCATI start with a 4 beat pattern of claps...all quarter notes. Then...I "do" the same pattern on another part of my body. And...the students start the pattern by clapping. They are always one body part behind me... So...they "do" the rhythm on the last body part I did... While...watching where I am "doing" the rhythm in the new spot.
(Each grouping happens simultaneously.)
Teacher - Clap Clap Clap Clap; Students - watching and waiting...expectantly!
Teacher - Stomp Stomp Stomp Stomp, Student - Clap Clap Clap Clap
Teacher - Fist Fist Fist Fist, Students - Stomp Stomp Stomp Stomp
Teacher - Tap-Head Tap-Head Tap-Head Tap-Head, Students - Fist, Fist, Fist, FistAnd so on... We usually get faster as the warm-up goes on and it's fun to see if they can keep up. They like it and I can talk about steady beat and tempo and accellerando after we're done laughing because we messed up again!
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8/01 SSH!(This is an echo/motion/facial expression chant. Teacher starts and children join in.)
1. Say 'ssssshhhhhh'. Start all the way at your left with finger on lips in 'ssh' motion and move head from left to far right. (Do this left to right motion on each item below. Try to make eye contact with all of the kids.)
2. Say 'wheeee' in a very high and excited voice. Voice comes down in pitch. Arms go up in air.
3. Say 'uhh' like you are very surprised while hands are on each side of the face - palms touching each cheek with mouth wide open in an 'o' formation.
4. Say 'hmmmm' in a deeper voice with hands on waist while looking perplexed.
5. Make rapid 'kissy' sounds with lips while hands are still on waist - but leaning forward.
6. Say 'shoop' with voice moving from low to high. Hands go out in jazz hands with arms out straight in front of you.
7. Do 'clicks' with tongue. Still have jazz hands but fingers bend in time with clicks.
8. Say 'hissssss' and very slowly bring your arms straight down in front of you.
Then go directly into a "Hello Song" (see Hello and Goodbye Games)
Extensions: Just do motions - they have to remember sounds - don't let them go ahead without you.
Also, could have a student lead this. (I had an autistic student who was able to lead this after the first time we did -- no matter how many days it had been since we had done this. It was great!)
(I even had 5th graders begging to do this.)
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8/01 M & M'SAt the beginning of class, walk around and give each kid an M&M. Tell them NOT TO EAT IT YET... and while being careful not to let it melt in their hands to try not to let anyone see it.
(So mi la so mi) Then, teacher sings - "Who has the red one?" Then, all students who have red M&M's sing - "I have a red one." etc.....
Then, at the end, they get to eat them. Easy and fun.
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8/01 FREDMy K-1's love to sing with Fred. Fred is a tennis ball with a slit cut for his mouth and eyes, nose drawn on. When you squeeze him he sings (with appropriate space :). Fred can show direction for pitch exploration or lead an echo activity. After the class has warmed up anyone who echoes alone gets to shake Fred's hand. (Squeeze the ball, put it on their finger and shake). Even the shy ones sing with Fred.
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8/01 BOOK
"Welcome Back" by Gene Grier. In it there is a place where the song stops, the piano vamps, and the kids get to tell about something fun they did during the summer. It's from a book by Gene Grier
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8/01 NAME GAME"Name name, say your name, I'll tell you mine when we play this game!"
solfege: s m s s m m s s m m r d d d
note type: q q e e e e e e e s s e e q
(q = quarter; e = eighth; s = sixteenth; w = whole)Then in rhythm, say the person's name and each time sing the phrase in between adding on names so everyone can speak and sing and learn names- not just you. So by the end, you say everyone's name in rhythm then end with a big finish and voila! . This works great with the little ones!
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8/01 CONCENTRATION (5TH Grade)Concentration, idee ahdee a shun, When you hear your name, the game begins!
One person then says their name in rhythm, followed by another class member's name. The person called then says their own name followed by someone else's...still in rhythm. If you get off beat, you go in the "mush pot" (center of the floor...the kids insisted that it was the mush pot!)
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8/01 NAME, NAME WHAT'S YOUR NAME? (3rd and 4th grade)Start with patsch, patsch, clap, clap...keep it going throughout.
Name, name what's your name, Say it now, we'll play a game
Say it high, say it low, Any ol' way, just dont' be slowAfter all have said this chant, one person says their name, "any ol' way" and everyone repeats it in the same kind of voice that the speaker used. Always, of course, keep the beat going!
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8/01 HEY CHILDREN, WHO'S IN TOWN?Hey children, who's in town, Everybody stop and look around
Say your name and when you do, We will say it back to you.The children sit in a circle. We learn the chant by rote (echoing me.) Then we go around the circle with each child saying his/her name and then all repeating it back. Sometimes only first names, sometimes first and last, sometimes in a 4/4 rhythm, sometimes more "freestyle."
We say the chant after 4 or 5 children say their names....if you say the chant each time it takes forever. I also use this same chant for clapping rhythms. Replace "Say your name" line with "clap a rhythm when you do" last line - "We will clap it back to you."
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8/01 HEY HEY WHO'S IN TOWN? (For Grades 1 -3)
Another way to remember that I use is a game the kids love. We all chant while keeping a steady beat on our knees:Hey, hey, who's in town? Everybody stop and look around.
Say your name and when you do We will say it back to you.Student says name and we answer back. We move around the circle taking turns. To expedite things, I have 4 students reply while keeping the beat and then we say the poem again. Since I have the poem on automatic, I spend the four lines looking back at the four who just answered and remembering names. At the end the kids love to have me try to remember all the names. We do this for several weeks at the first of the lesson.
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7/01 JUMP JIM JOE:
(Face Partner, holding hands, jump on every word)
ta ta ti- ti ta (rest)
Jump, Jump, Jump Jim Joe
do do mi re do(match actions w/words)
ti-ka ti-ka ti-ka ti-ka ti-ti ta (rest)
Shake your head and nod your head and tap your toe
re re re re re re re re fa mi re(Swing your partner)
ta-i ti ta-i ti ta-i ti ta
'round and 'round and 'round we go
sol mi fa re mi do re(Find new partner)
ti-ti ti-ka ti-ka ti-ka ti-ka ti-ti ta
'til we find another partner and we Jump Jim Joe
mi re (low) sol sol sol sol sol sol sol sol la ti do(Repeat any # of times)
Since I use this as a getting to know you activity, I usually say that they have to find a new partner every time. Of course I join in. Anyone who doesn't have a new partner by the beginning of the next repeat, has to sit down.
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7/01 CHARLIE OVER THE OCEAN:
Children stand in a circle, facing the inside of the circle. One person, Charlie, walks around the circle. Charlie sings one line at a time and the rest of the class echos. Since I use this to help learn names, the kids substitute their own name for Charlie.ti ti tri-pl-et ta ta
Charlie over the ocean. (echo....)
do do do do do re miti tri-pl-et ta ta
Charlie over the sea. (echo....)
do do do do do (low)la (low)solti ti ti ti ta ta
Charlie caught a big fish (echo.....)
do do do do re mita ta ta-a
Can't catch me-e (echo.....)
do do (low)la (low)solOn "can't catch me," Charlie tags someone and then that person tries to catch them (a la Duck Duck Goose). Just so everyone gets a turn, I made the old Charlies sit down and then the new Charlies have to choose someowe standing. If Charlie gets caught he or she has to sit in the Mush Pot, until someone replaces them. My two rules are no running (only a fast walk - no knees bent) and you can't look behind you if you're standing in the circle (just because that's no fun).
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7/01 I suppose I will have to bring out the old "Yankee Doodle Stick Passing Game" for the second through fourth graders - it is a good way to start the year and they just love it and its variations!(See Games/RhythmFor the fifths I will let them play the Musical Concentration game. Kids that have older siblings just WAIT for this one and know that ONLY fifth graders are allowed to play it. (Note from Sandy Toms: I made a game using poster board and the 'matches' were symbols on one card and the 'word' for the symbol on the other card.)
For K and first, I will probably bring out my new puppet - Puff!
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7/01 "LET'S SHAKE HANDS", with the younger kids, I like "I'm so Glad to Be Here" from v. 10, no.1 with the K-1st graders. even socend grade if they are at the beginning of the year. (Plank Rd Publishing - MK8 Newsletters)BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************FAVORITE SONGS
12/11 HIP HOP SONG - 1. Yakkin on Cell Phone Vol. 18 No. 4
2. Put on Your Thinking Cap Vol. 14 No. 2
3. Boom! Vol. 14 No. 5 (boomwhacker/singer with a hip hop beat)
4. Whacky Time Vol. 16 No. 5 (another boomwhacker/singer song, but it does have a hip hop beat) ---- Tami in CO (Mangusso)
5. 4th grade Spotlight On Music has "Something For Me, Something For You" which my kids are WILD for. It has a great message, too.
6. Upper Elementary Repertoire A favorite over the years with my kids is "Sounds All Around Us" from volume 8 I think.
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Ballad of the Underground Railroad
Cindy
Court of King Caractacus
Fifty Nifty United States (they request it all...year...LONG)
Follow The Drinking Gourd
[This] took several weeks Each 5th or sometimes 4th grade rewrote *Follow the drinking gourd* using things in our school as clues and then illustrated them into books. We then traded books with other classes to see if they could find freedom which ended up in classroom of the class that illustrated the book. We kept Follow the Drinking guard as our refrain. The drinking guard was our water fountains. The kids could not draw water fountains as this would give it away. Some of our clues were "The Digger will show you the way" This was the name of one of our Principals so they had to figure out that we needed to pass his office. Or you could keep the Old man is awaiting if you have a man teacher. Or "For Knowledge is awaiting to carry you to freedom", this was our library. When it came to illustration day we played spirituals in the background as we sang and drew our clues for our books. If your school has murals on the wall or if teachers hang students work in the hallway it is a great way to make kids really notice what is around them. ---- Pam Hall
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Little Liza Jane
Mrs. Murphy's Chowder
Madalina Catalina
Stella Ella Olla with the clapping circle game
Wavin Flag song adapted to be the theme song for the World Cup
Wakko's America
Yakkin' On A Cell Phone (MK8)
Wade In The Water,
Star Spangled Banner
Nat'l Anthem at the Super Bowl - an editorial
American the Beautiful
"So, with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten - straight up, no styling. Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don't make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification. Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love - not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician. They could see that from the costumes, the makeup and the entourages. Sing "The Star Spangled Banner" with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America, not you." ---- Contributed by Monica Smith Gelinas
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GENERAL REPERTOIRE
12/12 The Freeze by Greg and Steve on the "We Live Together" album., Animal Song on the Greg and Steve Album, The Kung Fu Kick from John Jacobson's Conga in the Kitchen Album., Conga in the Kitchen by John Jacobson, The Chicken Dance, The Limbo Rock, The Electric Slide, Elephants have Wrinkles by Denise Gagne,, Move, Move, Move from Music K8, Stop and Go from Music K8, letting them tiptoe when the music says "go", YMCA, Macarena - old, but they still enjoy it!, We are Playing in the Forest... one person is the wolf.---- Caryn Mears
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06/10 GREAT SITE --- FAMILIAR SONGS – Sheet music, Dance choreography, Midis
http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/FineArt/Core_Curriculum/General/songbook.htm
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12/06 AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL You must see this slide show. It is just lovely. America is truly beautiful. www.llerrah. com/america. htm -- Martha in Tallahassee
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06/04 How Beautiful Is The Rain!! By Mary Lynn Lightfoot, for two equal voices, piano and optional rainstick, text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Great song.
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7/01 I had to change my approach also. What I now do is start with a short, fun activity (only about 5 minutes) that gets them kind of out of breath. I've used "Jump Jim Joe" or "Charlie Over the Ocean" (See above) or other games. Then as they sit down to catch their breath, I go over rules and regulations. I let them know how they will be graded and what kind of behavior I expect from them. Last year I even did a "what if..." scenario where the kids acted out different behaviors and and a student who was acting like the teacher gave them a consequence (according to the rules they just learned). The students seemed to like the acting part and I think it really made the rules hit home. Then for about the last 5 minutes of class we another short activity. Either the same one at the beginning (if they really loved it) or something new. I found that things went much smoother for me when I showed them that my class was a mixture of fun and getting down to business.
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7/01 Generally speaking with all of my classes, after they get seated (and thus introduced to their 1st procedure: how I want them to enter the room and what to do when they're seated), I'll lead them in a song of some sort that will engage them in a spirit of music making.Then, we'll cover the rules & consequences, some basic management procedures that will lead them into our next activity, and then procede with a name game to get reaquainted. After this, depending on the class, we'll discuss some of the things we'll be doing this year (since my units are already sketched out and I won't be working week by week this yr). Finally, we'll do some singing out of our GAS (Get Amer. Singing) books and I'll refresh their memories on the components of good singing, how to follow the words/notes, etc. on the score, and some simple notational signs they've learned (clef, repeats, etc.) just to start kicking them into the review mode.
I'll vary some of the verses by having them switch boys/girls, loud/soft, fast/slow, etc. And of course, we'll add some body percussion here and there along with some changes of body position (stand/sit on selected words or phrases).
As time permits, I'll try to introduce them to a new song, probably a fun sing-a-long type with motions. What we don't cover on the first day, we'll cont. on the second day.
On day 2, we'll review some of the things we did on day 1 (including rules again), cover a few more procedures like passing out instruments, and then add some rhythm & instrument playing activities to some of the songs we sang the first day.
My theme for the first sessions in August are simply "Get 'em Singing". I'll only see my classes 3 times in August. Then come Sept, we'll move into my "Our Musical Heritage" unit where we'll focus on folk songs, patriotic songs, songs to supplement some of the Social Studies cirriculum, along with a "mega" review of musical elements and such. I'm planning to do more listening activities as well as rhythmic and solfege dictation.
This year my goal is balance. Many of the activities will still be up, fun & engaging, but there will also be some momements when the activities will be quiet and low key. Self preservation you know!! ;)
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7/01 The "Say your name and when you do, we will say it back to you" part comes from an activity I have seen in the SHARE THE MUSIC series. I like the beginning that yours has added though!BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Boys' Songs
My boys loved "Gone Fishin'"--they dressed in old jeans, barefoot, tshirts or flannel shirts, found old baseball caps or old straw hats, and brought a stick with a visible string tied--the song lends itself to one "lazy dude" just fishing, and not even singing!!!How about "We are the Boys" from Big River - other than that "Splish Splash" is always a winner - I did "you've Got a Friend" with a group of boys last year they loved it!
I had arranged Take Me Out to the Ballgame for chorus and, from the piano bench pulled out a Red Sox baseball shirt and put it on (I am in Yankee country).
How about "I Won't Grow Up" from Peter Pan. I used this song with my first group a fine-singing boys years ago. I have featured a volunteer boys group on each spring concert since. It's one of my favorite activities each year. (I also do a girls number.)
Two really great choral readings that my kids have loved doing are: *The Southpaw by Judith Viorst (it's a baseball reading. We use groups - boys/girls - for "Janet" and "Richard.") I am the Dog, I am the Cat by Donald Hall
ANOTHER CUTE SONG FOR THE BOYS IS "HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH"...A Letter From Camp. It works great.
John Jacobson song "Grumble Too Much" It talks about men's perception of women-it's not exactly American, but could be a cute number for some enthusiastic boys. It available with a show Trax CD and I think it was done with choreography notes too.
ANOTHER CUTE SONG FOR THE BOYS IS "HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH"...A Letter From Camp. It works great.
There is a great medley of cowboy songs called How the West Was Fun. My boys choir has done it before and they LOVED it.
I had a group of 5th and 6th grade boys I featured once in the "Beauty and the Beast" medley. They ran backstage, put on football pads (over choir outfits) and threw on extra-large white T-shirts over everything and came to the front of the stage for our staging of "Gaston". It was hilarious. They really camped it up. Our choreography included lots of strutting and preening and muscle flexing. (Which can be nothing but funny when done by boys of this age!)
My 5th grade boys (in general music class) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
"We Go for the Gold" and "Air Guitar".
Try the "Rough, Tough, Burly Sailor Song."
My 5th grade boys absolutely ADORE "Jaws of the Jurassic."BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************CALL RESPONSE SONGS
06/06 One that would tie in well with Black History Month is "Ev'rybody Aughta Know." -- Ruth Garcia06/06 Out of "Making Music", I like "Limbo Like Me" for Grade Four and "Day-O (Banana Song)" for Grade Five. We have done both this year, discussed call and response style singing, and added instruments. Fourth Grade did the Limbo to the music and to the "Limbo Rock" on Rhythmically Moving 2. Fifth Grade acted out the song with hats and baskets, and added non-pitched instrumental accompaniment. -Sabrina LaPointe
Wade in the Water
Kye Kye Koolay, Old John the Rabbit, and John Kanaka are good ones.
Day-O
For K and 1 "John the Rabbit". Ella Jenkins has several excellent call and response songs on her albums. There used to be a song called "Before Dinner" from some African nation, where the response was "ya ya,,,ya ya". Call and response songs have so much potential. I love 'em!!! Just thought of one my upper grades loved, in the old Silver Burdett Making Music Your Own (maybe some later SB also) called Grizzly Bear.-- Louise Eddington, Muncie, IndianaBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************CAMPSONGS
06/07 One or two stupid ghost stories; I have a tape with some that I use, think it's called Story in my Pocket; hands down favorites are "Tillie" and "On a Dark and Stormy Night."
Songs: Ants Go Marching; On Top of Spaghetti; Found a Peanut; She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain; I've Been Working on the Railroad; Kee Chee; basically anything you can do without needing a book or songsheet. So much fun!!! -- Julie Jones
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06/07 I have some poems from a book called Toasting Marshmallows by Kristine O'Connell George. -- Sherry Stahl
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01/07 TAPS: Day is done. Gone the sun, from the lakes, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh. -- Nancy Paxson
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10/02 Be kind to your web-footed friends, for that duck may be somebody's mother. Be kind to your friends in the swamp, For the weather is very damp (pronounced dahmp). You might think that this is the end...well, it is!
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10/02 www.amiright.com
Has info on song parodies, origins of musical group's names and other stuff - should provide some good laughs, er I mean resources for you all!SONGS TO REMEMBER Campfire Songs - selection of guiding and scouting songs.
http://www.backyardgardener.com/loowit/janeellen.htmlSONGS FOR SCOUTS Songs for Scouts and Scouters BR> http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~catherin/campfire.htm
BECKY'S CAMPFIRE SONG BOOK
Becky's Campfire Song book - introductions and warm-ups, rounds, yells, chants, and action and repeating songs.
http://www.geocities.com/Enchanted Forest/Glade/8851/
CAMP RENA SONGS AND CRAFTS http://www.camprena.com/MORE CAMP SONGS http://www.mormons.org/ywc/camp/campsong.htm
LOVE TO SING SONGS http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/Camp_Songs.htm
EVEN MORE SONGS FOR CAMPERS http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/campsongs/
FAT SHEEP http://www.fatsheep.org/songscamp.htm
MORE OF YOUR FAVORITE CAMP SONGS http://www.homestead.com/oldcampfriends/campsongs2.htm
ROAD TRIP!!! Car Games and Camp Songs http://www.i5ive.com/article.cfm/kids/8753
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Christmas
10/12 JINGLE BELLS: Sit in a circle, pass a jingle bell behind their backs while singing "Jingle Bells"; stop passing at the end of the song and let "it" in the middle (who was hiding his/her eyes), guess who has the bell. Kinder & 1st, and even 2nd, like this game.
SUGAR PLUM FAIRY: sit on their bottoms, knees up with arms and heads resting on knees; no peeking, talking or playing while you play "Sugar Plum Fairy"--they simply listen! Whoever keeps their head down gets a purty sticker. I warn them ahead of time that this is hard, and some of them may not be able to do it until we have practiced a few more times---- Carol Parnell
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My fourth grade always does the multi-cultural show to celebrate all the December holidays. I like "December in Our Town." This year we are doing "Once On a Housetop" which I have done before and the kids had a lot of fun with it. Third grade, I'm doing "An All-American Christmas" which I have done and has been mentioned by others, but one we really liked was "The Nutcracker." The kids and teachers all really loved it. Very easy and then our last day before break - we watched the Nutcracker ballet on DVD. --- Robert Johnson
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12/09 A wonderful piece that my Camerata (my select group of 4ths and 5ths) is doing “Beautiful December” - Amy F. Bernon – Kathleen Bragle
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11/08 JINGLE BELL DANCE: This is how I learned the Jingle Bell Mixer from Sonna Longden. I may have changed it over the years but it works! There is a version of Jingle Bells called The Jingle Bell Polka but you DON'T have to use it. Just play/sing jingle bells over and over.... Form: Partners in double circle.
Partners polka step counterclockwise to "Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh o'er hills we go laughing all the way." (15 "gallops" and turn on beat 16.)
Turn and go clockwise on " Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits bright, what fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight." (15 beats, then turn and face partner on 16). As you sing the chorus you patty cake and then elbow swing your partner.
Match this pattern to "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way" (pat lap) pat pat pat, (clap own hands) clap clap clap ( patty cake partner) cross clap rt., clap own , cross clap left, clap own, clap both partner's hands. clap own 2X
On "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh." rt.elbow swing partner
Repeat pattern to "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way" (pat lap) pat pat pat, (clap own hands) clap clap clap ( patty cake partner) cross clap rt., clap own , cross clap left, clap own, clap both partner' hands. clap own 2X
On "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh." left elbow swing partner and outside circle moves over ONE partner counterclockwise, while inner circle moves ONE partner clockwise. Everyone gets a new partner and dance begins again. --- Dianne Park, San Diego, CA
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12/07 BOOK: Try the Winter Revels books by John Langstaff. They have lots of material. I think the website is _www.revels.org_ (http://www.revels.org) -- Julie Jones
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See more ideas at: Holidays/Christmas, Winter 12/07 MUSICAL: CHRISTMAS ON CANDY CANE LANE A Holiday Musical for Young Voices. By Alan Billingsley, John Jacobson. (teacher edition). Expressive Art (Choral). Children's Musical. 36 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (9970143) www.sheetmusicplus.comI did this two years ago for the second time with my 3rd and 4th graders. I love this musical!!! In a couple of years I will do it again because it has a great message and is such a easy learn!!! I think you could do it with 1and 2. It really is great! Your price $15.00--- Dee Truelove
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12/07 MUSICAL: I've done "TWAS’ THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" with my 4th and 5th graders. We had our musical in the gym as well. We set up floor with a kitchen on one side, risers in the middle, and a couch scene on the other side. When the imitation Santa Claus's came out we put those in the middle in front of the risers. Depending on your type of children they may not know who Martha Stewart is. Also, there are several solos throughout the whole musical. -- Mrs. Tammy Tinker
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12/07 "Winter Lights - A Season in Poems and Quilts." by Anna Grossnickle Hines - It has sixteen poems about winter celebrations and winter in general plus beautiful photos of quilts. My idea is to use the poems as the glue to hold everything together, find some related songs and there you go. I'm hoping each class will make a class quilt and that will take care of the decorations. No costumes are required really. -- Brandi N in Nova Scotia, Canada
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01/07 SONG: "Peace, Peace" by Rick and Sylvia Powell. -- This is another glorious one that is very accessible for younger students. - Becky in NH
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01/07 GAME: Take a couple of old CD spindles (the kind that come on the 50 packs work great) and play ring toss with your wrist jingle bells. Lotsa fun. -- Pam Young
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12/06 POWERPOINTS(Christmas) : http://www.musicbulletinboards.net/downloadspage.htm
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth PPT by Camille Page
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem PPT by Tracy King
Christmas Sing Along (6 favorites!) PPT by June Home
The Colors Of Christmas (by Nancy Stewart) PPT by Terese Dayton
The Colors Of Hanukkah (by Nancy Stewart) PPT by Terese Dayton
The Colors Of Winter (by Nancy Stewart) PPT by Terese Dayton
Deck the Halls PPT by Camille Page
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer PPT by Tracy King
Here Comes Santa Claus PPT by Camille Page
Holly Jolly Christmas PPT by Camille Page
Holly Jolly Christmas by Emily Kelchner Lee
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus PPT by Camille Page
Jingle Bell Rock PPT by Camille Page
Jingle Bells PPT by Camille Page
Jolly Jingle Bells PPT by Anne Lyon (a medley of "Up on the Housetop", "Jolly Old St. Nick" and "Jingle Bells")
Jingle Bell Rock PPT by Tracy King
Jingle Bells PPT by Tracy King
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas PPT by Camille Page
Must Be Santa PPT by Camille Page
Nuttin' For Christmas PPT by Camille Page
O Christmas Tree PPT by Camille Page
On a Christmas Morning (tune of Old Brass Wagon) PPT by Tracy King
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree PPT by Camille Page
Rudolph PPT by Camille Page
Run Run Rudolph PPT by Tracy King
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town PPT by Camille Page
Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy PPT by Tracy King
Silver Bells PPT by Camille Page
We Wish You a Merry Christmas PPT by Camille Page
We Wish You a Merry Christmas PPT by Camille Page, adapted by Anne Lyon
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (country version) PPT by Tracy King
Where Are You Christmas? PPT by Tracy King
Instructional: Sleigh Ride (by Leroy Anderson) PPT by Linda Abbott
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POWERPOINT ( Winter) The Colors Of Winter (by Nancy Stewart) PPT by Terese Dayton
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JINGLE BELL DANCE: Formation: partners side-by-side in a circle facing either CW or CCW. Holding hands helps to keep partners side-by-side.For the A section (dashing through the snow.....) they travel CW or CCW. For the B section (jingle bells, jingle bells...) they stop and face their partner.
clap clap clap, clap clap clap (titi tah titi tah)on "jingle bells, jingle bells."
pat clap partner-pat on the beat (tah tah tah) for "jingle all the way"
Then they can either hook elbows or take hands and circle around, ending up on their original spot for "oh what fun it is to ride in a 1-horse open sleigh." Repeat for the next phrase.
Get ready for the repeat of the A section.I have also seen this done with a parachute. Fun if you have a LARGE room! :-) -- Martha Evans Osborne
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RUDOLPH in GERMAN:
Rudolf mit rotem Naeschen (Naeschen) Hatte eine Lampe rot (Wie eine Birne!!!)
Und wer sie hat gesehen (sehen) Der wird sagen dass sie loht (Wie eine Birne!)
Alle die andern Hirschlein (Hirschlein) Lachten oft und schalten ihn (Du Dummkopf!)
Liessen den armen Rudolf (Rudolf) Nie auf ihren Spielplatz geh'n (zum Fussball)Als in einer Nebelnacht Niklaus kam und fragt (Ho! Ho! Ho!)
"Rudolf mit der Nas so rot, Hilfst Du uns in uns'rer Not?"Dann wie die Reh ihn liebten (liebten)Als sie riefen laut "Hurrah!" (Hurrah!)
Rudolf mit rotem Naeschen (Naeschen) Ewig wirst Du leben, ja! - Judy Schneider
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SLEIGH RIDE: SLEIGH RIDE - Leroy Anderson;
Introduction: snap, rest, rest, rest (4x) snap, rest, snap, rest (2x)
A: Pat, clap, snap, clap (2x slow, 4x fast)
B: (clap) ta ta titi ta, (pat) tiki tiki ta r, tiki tiki ta r (4x)
A: as before
Interlude: rest 4 beats
C: "123456789, snap, rest, rest" (2x) / (pat) titi titi (clap) ta ta(4x)
123456789, snap, rest, rest" (2x) / (pat) titi titi (clap) ta ta(2x)1 touch head
2 touch right shoulder
3 touch left shoulder
4 touch right hip
5 tough left hip
6 touch right knee
7 touch left knee
8 stamp right foot
9 stamp left foot (all to the eighth note rhythm)
Interlude - hand jive: snap, rest, snap, rest (2x)
A: Pat, clap, snap, clap (2x slow, 4x fast)
B: (clap) ta ta titi ta, (pat) tiki tiki ta r, tiki tiki ta r (4x)
A: as before
Coda - hand jive + "catch, put, brush, stamp, rest, rest, SLEIGH RIDE - (from a workshop, source unknown) Cynthia Sibitzky - North Pole, Alaska
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10/05 "Winter In America" (includes cold winter climates and warm winter climates- Very funny!)
"Snow Day" (No school due to a Snow Day)
"I Hear Those Jingle Bells"-Partner Songs.)
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02/05 The Czech song, Snih (Snow!), was featured in an article I wrote for MK8 a while back: volume 8 #3 pages 62-63. Part of the translation says, "who lost the white feathers? On the roof the rooster was watching. "Snow" he said, it's snowing!" It and its sweet companion piece by Petr Eben, The Sparrow (Pisnicka o vrabci)(about a sparrow sleepng behind a chimney in the snow, trying to stay warm) are available as a set "Two Winter Songs" (VTS#28) for $2 from Music K8 Marketplace or your favorite dealer. -- Judith Cook Tucker, Publisher
World Music Press (ASCAP), www.worldmusicpress.com
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02/05 DECK THE HALLS - Movement
(Movement corresponds to the words of the song)
4 claps to the pulse (Deck the halls with...)
Forward bow down and up (Fa la la la la la) 3 stomps (La La La)Repeat all above except change claps to pats.
Walk R around in a circle (in place) (Don we now..)
Fwd bow down/up (Fa la la la la la)
3 stomps (La La La)Walk L around in a circle (Troll the ancient...)
Fwd bow down/up
3 stomps-- Gretchen in IL
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02/05 There's a lovely piece, "Snow is Dancing" that I've used for movement. It's from Debussy's "Children's Corner Suite." That's on the Tomita CD I recommended. http://paulawalla.com/music_cds.php
Snowflakes are Dancing Children's Corner, No. 4 Actually, I prefer to use Bands 5, 7, and 9 with the book "Snowmen at Night". -- Patricia Albritton
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10/04 WINTER NOVELTY
My kids loved Christmas Makes Me Sing(MusicK8)
Winter Fantasy by Jill Gallina - Very nice It is a partner song w/ Jingle Bells
Winter Novelty songs: “Hot Cup of Cocoa by Phyllis Wolfe #H5863 2 pt.
“The First Snowball of the Season” by Roberts/Piller/Gotti Brent Pub. #230715
There's another arrangement of Jingle Bells called “Jingle Bell Dash.”
Another favorite is “Holiday Lights” -- you can do flashlight choreography with that one. Both are available at JWPEPPER.
My kids liked one called "The Christmas Rush" -it had shopping bag choreography!
"Cold and Fugue Season" is really cute. Kind of hard. IT is based on a Bach Fugue.
"Holiday Lights" published by Hal Leonard w/ flashlight choreography.
"Donde esta Santa Claus" and my kids just loved it. Great beat and possibilities for unpitched percussion. Catchy!
"Perfect Winter Day" - MK8, Teresa Jennings
My kids loved doing A Perfect Winter Day - MK8 last year. I'm not sure it fits with your themes, but it is definitely a winner. I had mixed ages; so I had the 3rd/4th learn both parts and 1st/2nd do just the positive part. (2 grades in each program, one older & one younger).
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12/03 "Were you there on that Christmas Night?" by Natalie Sleeth
"Shine, Advent Candle, Shine"
"O Come O Come Emmanuel"
"Behold A Tiny Baby"
Found this little gem of an arrangement of Jingle Bells (actually called Jinglebell Dash and got it thru jwpepper.com) to which I'm adding boomwhackers to. It's not scored for bw, but they work nicely. The piece opens with the standard dashing thru the snow. On the Jingle bells part, there's a 2nd part on the text "dashing dashing dashing dashing...". Then there's a little original tune leading up to the Chopsticks melody. This is what my bw's are playing. It's in the key of Bflat, so you'll need the chromatic sets. The piece returns to the Jinglebells/dashing part with a cute little ending. I'm going to use this piece for all K-8 classes along with the audience. My 6ths will be playing the bw parts. - Contributed by Gretchen in IL
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8/01 Holiday/Cmas ideas
I would also recommend "Christmas at the O.K. Corral".
We did a Prehistoric Christmas last year with K and 1. It was a great success, I can only recommend it. Of course, it is by Teresa Jennings!
I have the Scrooge Musical--but only the teacher edition--dialogue and complete accompaniment score. Mine is by James Leisy - Shawnee Press. I also have the elementary version called, "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol." I have used that many times with elementary classes.
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6/01 I really enjoyed doing A PLACE IN THE CHRISTMAS CHOIR last year. This musical is by John Jacobson. I did it with 2-4, my fourth graders get the speaking parts as they move on to the Middle School next year. We had cat and dog ears made from plastic headbands and fabric. My parents group made these. We also had a dog suit for Happy The Hound, a Santa suit and some elf hats. The music and suggested movements were fun to do. The message of inclusion was inspiring! I had a great accompanist so we didn't use the recorded track. The setting is a choir rehearsal room, so the props needed were minimal.
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A Celtic Christmas, arr. Audrey Snyder (a really nice arrangement of Wexford Carol and Suo Gan, a Welsh lullaby). For one performance I used a violin and recorder (both played by adults) and for the other I used the soundtrack which is REALLY nice.Riu, Riu Chiu, arr. Audrey Snyder (a Spanish carol)
Huron Indian Carol, arr.Jill Ann Jones
The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy, arr. John Leavitt (Jamaican)
song, but it just says Traditional so I might be wrong)
Korean Carol Lullaby, arr. Winnagene Hatch
A Cuckoo Flew Out of the Woods, arr. B.Wayne Bisbee (a Slovak carol)
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7/01 CHRISTMAS MUSICALSI've done "Holly and the Ivy League"-girl elf wants to be deputy Santa, can't 'cause she's a girl, sues the north pole-REALLY funny!!
"The Night the Reindeer Rocked"-reindeer are bored, get a part time job as a rock band, only paying gig is on Christmas Eve-short (25 min) but clever.
"Santa's Holiday Hoedown"-whole north pole gang goes to Branson (but at this moment I can't remember why!!) and the music and lines are great!
"Surfin' Santa"-evil toy company wants to put Santa out of business so they get it all, sends Santa a fake winning pass for a tropical island-GREAT characters and lines!!
"A Storybook Christmas"-elves are tired of drawing the same old fairy tales, fall asleep and the fairy tales get mixed up. GREAT songs and really clever lines.
Last Christmas I used Santa, You've Got Mail with my 6th Graders and The Xmas Files with my 5th Graders. Both musicals are humorous and also fun to perform.
"A Sombrero for Santa" I did it with 1st and second graders. They were very cute, and the parents really loved it! Stage decorations were simple. Each child only had 2 rhyming lines to memorize, and they did very well. It has some cute humor in it. "When Santa gets thousands of letters from children in Spanish, he decides he'd better go to Mexico to learn the language. When it looks like transportation can't get him back to the North pole for Christmas, he and the elves set up shop in a Mexican village. The clever rhyming dialogue includes many Spanish words, making this musical educational as well as entertaining!"
"Cool Yule, A North Pole Rock 'N Roll Spectular" is a Christmas musical revue by Mark Brymer, published by Hal Leonard. It's about 15 minutes in length. It does come with an accompaniment cassette or CD. It has 2 pt., SAB, and SATB voicings available. There's an announcer at the very beginning who introduces Santa, who is the narrator. He introduces the various specialty groups which include the New Elves on the Block, Fa La Cool and the Gang, Miss Loretta Pointsettia, Bill Holly and the Mistletoes, the Reindeer Sisters, the Snow Surfers, Mr. Scrooge, and Tina Tinsel. I got an approval copy through Pepper Music. It looks like a lot of fun!!
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***********************************************************************FREE SONGS
FREE SONGS: http://www.musick8.com Click on the "Resources/Help" button in the navigation bar, at the top of every MusicK8.com page. Click on "Free Downloads." Click on "Free Songs."BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Echo Songs
12/11 The Princess Pat, The Crazy Moose, The Other Day I Met a Bear, Oh, You'll Never Get to Heaven, Down By the Bay, Purple Light, Una Sardina, I'm Going to Leave Old Texas, Charlie Over the Ocean, My Aunt Came Back, No More Pie, The Green Grass Grew All Around, Che Che Koolay, Hambone, Bill Grogan's Goat ---- Julie Jones
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10/02 123 Echo Me by Loretta Mitchell
One of my favorite echo songs, not MK8, is "Say Hello" on one of the Greg and Steve recordings (mine is a record!). We start the year with it in grades 1 and 2.
Little Sir Echo (in old children's song books - check the library)
"Sing What I Sing" in a Sesame Street songbook
John Feierband's Book of Echo Songs
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My Aunt Came Back; Bill Grogan's Goat(This Here Goat); Old Texas
My Little Song; Hello There; Sing About Martin; The River is Wide
Supper On The Ground; Over My Head; Down By The Bay;
Every Night When The Sun Goes In; Polynesian Work Chant (Tongo);
Oh You Can't Get To Heaven(Ain't Gonna Grieve My Lord No more);
Sipping Cider(The prettiest girl); The Bear; Little Sir Echo Long John;I teach these to my classroom teacher course students so they can have a song in those spare moments that appear in an average day as well as during the planned curriculum. All that is needed to perform these songs is a knowledgeable song leader with a pleasant or fairly accurate voice. If you need more info about these songs, e-mail me at my homepage: http://www.fau.edu/divdept/musicdpt/people/cbell/home.htm
Click on Student Form and you can send a message or just use my e-mail address: cbell@fau.edu Clark Bell Florida Atlantic University Music Department 561/367-3829 Boca Raton, Fl 33431
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***********************************************************************Healing after Tragedy
01/02 I have a neat song that my kids do every week in Sunday School called "Love Grows" that would give her some support. Another idea is the Color Song. My preschool and lower elementary kids love it! I don't think it's copyrighted (I learned it years and years and years ago, and have never had the music for it, so if I step on someone's copyright, I hereby apologize!)
The kids stand in a circle, and sing "If you're wearing (red), step right in, (the kids who are wearing (red--or whatever color) step to the middle of the circle) if you're wearing red, wave and grin (do the appropriate action); if you're wearing red, jump and spin (they jump and turn around), then step back now (move back to their spot in the circle." And you go on with other colors, being sure to include everybody's colors. We add verses like, if you're wearing a smile, if you have blue eyes, if you like ice cream, etc. just to keep the fun going!The rhythm goes: titi ta ta ta-ah, ta, ta ta; titi ta ta ta-ah ta ta ta; titi ta ta ta-ah, ta ta ta, ta ta (rest) ta (rest) ta (rest-rest!)
Melody:
cc f a f e g e cc e g e f a f cc f a f g a bflat bflat a g f (or in solfege)
low so so do me do; ti re ti; soso ti re ti; do me do; soso do me do; re me fa fa me re do.
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01/02 A religious song by John Horman/Mary N. Keithahn dedicated to all children affected by the 9/11/01 tragedy:
"We Know Our God Is Faithful"; unison treble choir with SATB (optional) Choristers Guild Pub.CGA937
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01/02 Song tribute to 9/11/01: http://www.cantcryhardenough.com/
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We had K-8 sing Grand Old Flag, America the Beautiful and then I sang We Might Heal as a solo. After that song many kids were crying and we had a moment of silence. We finished with the Star Spangeled Banner. During We Might Heal we flashed pictures from this week and the last one was a picture of a flag, the white house and the exploding buildings kinda all edited together. The caption read: "Justice will come...today our task is to mourn. And in that shared mourning we prepare to heal...and to prevail." For the lack of prep time it went well. Somehow my secretary got 3 veterans to come up and present the flags at the beginning of the assembly. God blessed the efforts of those involved and lives were touched.
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today at 11am our entire student body/staff (k-5) gathered around the flagpole outside. we said the Pledge, then i lead them in the singing of the national anthem, America the Beautiful, America, and God Bless America. i told the teachers to really sing out, but they needed very little encouragment. they sang with all their hearts and the kids joined in mimicking us on the words they didn't know. after Amer. the Beaut. our principal (!) requested Amazing Grace, but luckily someone quickly piped up "My Country, 'Tis." don't get me wrong; i love A.G. (as a Christian myself, the lyrics hold particularly special meaning) but it somehow seemed out of place, esp. for a public school, so i was glad for the deflection to my all-time favorite patriotic song. i could kick myself though for not ending with a rousing verse or two of This Land is Your Land. now, THAT's one my kids know backward and forward.
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The principal told them why we were there, there was a minute of silence followed by them listening to God Bless America. (the only version I had was good ol' Kate Smith from a record I bought at a thrift store. Love her!) Then the entire school sang America, Grand Old Flag and Star-Spangled Banner. Very effective. It seemed like the right thing to do. Most teachers were crying. As the children silently left the gym, I played the CD of Candle for Remembering (MK8 11/2). Many teachers commented about how moving and appropriate that piece was......they especially liked hearing gr. 4 sing it as they walked by. (They had sung it in last year's Christmas program.)
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***********************************************************************HEROES
There is a song called, "Ev'rybody's Got to Have a Hero" in the old Silver Burdett World of Music book (level 5).... MK8 Hero song The musical "Tall Tales and Heroes" has a great closing song called "Everyone's a Hero." Partners-in-Progress appreciation thing with a February/Black History - we did a George Washington song (a poem I found that fit the music of "America, the Beautiful) "Follow the Drinking Gourd" (Harriet Tubman), "Blue-Tailed Fly" (supposedly a favorite of Abe Lincoln).
Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings," "Hero" by Mariah Carey
Enrique Iglesias song entitled "Hero"?"Holding Onto a Hero" - Bonnie Tyler or somebody - back in the 80s
CD called "God Bless America" and includes: God Bless America -Celine Dion, Land of Hope and Dreams-Bruce Springsteen (live), Hero- Mariah Carey, Amazing Grace- Tramaine Hawkins, Blowin' in the Wind-Bob Dylan, Bridge Over Troubled Water- Simon And Garfunkel, Peaceful World - John Mellencamp (previously unreleased, Live acoustic version) There's a Hero- Billy Gilman, and America The Beautiful- Frank Sinatra, God Bless the U.S.A.- Lee Greenwood, This Land is your Land - Pete Seeger, Coming Out of the Dark - Gloria Estefan, We Shall Overcome - Mahalia Jackson, Star Spangled Banner, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Lean on Me-Bill Withers.'Go the Distance' from Hercules?
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***********************************************************************
INNER CITY SCHOOLS
12/07 I've been wanting to refrain from putting children's names on the board if they are misbehaving and instead reinforce those who choose to use appropriate behavior. During class I will give a student a high five sign if they are being attentive or using appropriate behavior. Without disturbing the class, they walk over to my book shelves, write their name on a slip of paper and deposit it in a special box. At the end of class I pick out one of the names.My new addition to this: The child who was chosen from the last music class they had gets to come up and lead the children in clapping for the new chosen child with a special hand clapper. I found some inexpensive plastic hand clappers - two hinged hands that make a great sound when they flop back and forth on each other when you shake them. The child who was chosen for the day also takes home a cardstock weight hand which is colored on one side and on the other white side I write: "I was a handy helper in music class today". The children have really enjoyed this - even had one special ed teacher come in to ask what I was doing because one of her students said he loved this. She couldn't believe that they didn't receive a "prize.” I told her that taking home the hand with the note written on it and the applause of the fellow students was the prize. -- Lynn Frens
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heidijbernard@yahoo.com 12/07 I teach at an inner city charter school in Chicago and am trained as a band director. But I think that my best lessons are when I use MM (LOVE IT!) and when I'm excited and enthusiastic about it. My kids love learning about other composers and musicians because I LOVE teaching it. Get them moving and playing instruments is what helps with me. I don't teach up to 7/8 grade yet... only up to 6th.. .but my 6th graders are not much of a problem. It's also fun to get them on the computer to do research. We study classical music this semester and jazz next sememster, so every so often I'll have a SQUILT activity for classical music or something about a composer. ENTHUSIASM is contagious! --- Heidi
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12/07 When I first started teaching at my school, I did this: I had this talented young man who could play the piano by ear, so I went to his church where he played. I was amazed. Take the music that the students like listening to and have the students create new music. Perhaps entice the students with a popular song after the students learn "the teacher's" music. Do a history lesson on African American Music. Go to Wal-Mart and purchase a Kids Hip Hop CD and play a song for the kids after a "good" day with the last five miniutes of class. -- T. Tinker
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12/07 I visited schools in Savannah, GA and in the inner-city school, I taught a couple of the Susie and Phil jazz pieces to the kids. [Susie Davies-Splitter has written some excellent echo songs for upper elementary. They are in her Jazz it Up! collection and in Jazz and Blues for Kids. Much of the echo parts are scat syllables, getting kids ears working AND getting them familiar with scat.] The response was amazing - they loved the movement, the rhythms and the activity. I used "Jiggles" from "Shake it Up!" and "Scoo Be Doo" song from "Jazz it Up!", but would recommend any of the jazzy pieces that Susie & Phil have written. (All available from Plank! - www.musick8.com) -- Denise Gagne www.musicplay.ca Musicplay - the Sequential Text Series tvmusic@telusplanet.net 888-562-4647
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12/07 Check out this book (Maybe at the library?) “Teaching Music in Urban Schools”
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-7944375-9989724?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=otis+simmons
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12/07 "White Teachers/Diverse Classroom" you can buy it used
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-9453637-3976456?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=white+teachers%2Fdiverse+classroom&x=12&y=22
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12/07 It is definitely true that these urban kids LOVE TO DANCE - and I do TONS of New England Country Dancing as well as folk dancing from various countries. IN fact, I have never taught at any suburban school where kids were as open to all kinds of dancing and loved it so much, as my kids do at this school. They beg for dances - any dances, and it is a joy for me, as Iam a dance /movement person. In addition, I have found that my urban kids have an aesthetic openness to classical music that my suburban kids never had. It's a pleasure. -- Laura Deutsch, Music Essentialist, University of Hartford Multiple Intelligences Magnet School
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12/07 If you want to teach your kids a great (...possibly the first?) rap, show them the video "The Music Man" at the beginning -- the train scene -where Prof. Harold Hill stuns us all with his rhythmic ability and with change in tempo, according to how fast the train is moving. It's SO cool for kids to see. Brings a smile to my face each time I see it! -- Pat Boozer
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12/07 I teach in Madison, Wisconsin. At my elementary school nearly 45% of our students are free and reduced lunch, most of these students are African American. The rest of our school is comprised of college professor children. Quite a mix I assure you. Anyway, I've had some tough 4th and 5th grade years. Some have been succesful, some have not. Last year, I thought I had a great hook... I got a grant for African Drums (I bought tubanos and djembes) the kids did love it and one group continued all year long and even performed outside of school (my first group to do so!) but 2 of my 5th grade groups were starting to disrespect both the drums and me...so I stopped.
Then...I had a unit on THE BEATLES. I thought that would be a shoe in for sure. Well, the same group that continued with the drumming loved the Beatles...but the other 2 groups didn't.
So, I ended up doing patriotic music. I figured if they can't get into the Beatles...I was going to do songs that I figured they wouldn't give much less energy than they already were. They actually surprised me and did a wonderful job with Land that We Love (a partner song with America the Beautiful) and Fifty Nifty. Fifty Nifty is a HUGE hit every year!
Other pieces I've done that my students (even the "tougher" ones) love are: Splish Splash! Wade in the Water I Heard it Through the Grapevine Journey to Hip Hop (a rap I wrote that I'm currently getting copyrighted...it traces the history of Hip Hop all the way back to Africa) Any rap...I wrote a new school song (it's mostly rap but has a sung chorus...that makes it Hip Hop in the "new" definition...I think) and the kids LOVE it! Just Give me the Beat...a sheet I got from Renee Boyer Alexander's workshop at our WMEA conference last year.
Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar - yep, even this...I have a simple ostinato for the Xylo they can play and then kids volunteer to take 8 beats and improvise using various instruments. By far...a favorite instrument of theirs is the Vibra Slap!...we even put some ostinatos together for this one.This year, I'm doing double Dutch rhymes and so far it's working great. Once they have the rhymes, we're putting hand clap patterns (for 2 kids to do) to them, and eventually we'll put them to the jump roping. Luckily, I have students in each class that are double Dutchers so I won't have to lead that part!! I've also got a couple of Elvis tunes picked out. Anyway, this type of music usually brings them together. Once I've got them, they'll do pretty much anything for me! I've even played (CD) a few current pieces in class...last year I played "I Know I Can" by Nox. They loved it! Great message too!
I usually do a STOMP unit with this age group too. A huge hit! see the file: "Listening." -- Rhonda Schilling, Madison WI
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12/07 This may seem an odd answer....but...have this teacher attend a few African-American church services. I actually did this and it is an eye opener to their love of music and rhythm and beat and style. -- Jacquie Wood
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12/07 Competition! Split the groups into two. Give points for positive things and take them away for negative things. Whichever team wins gets a prize (a pretzel or two) and if both teams get more than 40 points everyone gets the prize. Do that for about three weeks and they'll get used to being good and you can slow down a little. -- Sara Power
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12/07 I teach in inner city Detriot [and] all my students are African-American. I teach General Music K-5 and we are adding a grade at a time so eventually it will be K-8. My most successful lessons have been doing Body Rondos by Jim Solomon and the students absolutely love to play with instruments. They also love to play games against each other. I am currently trying to teach them note values so they can start to do rhythm but it has been a challenge since most of these students have never had a real music class before so it's basically starting 400 students to music theory from scratch. Most of my students have problems reading so it's been a struggle! -- Jessica Manrow
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12/06 One other thing - it is definitely true that these urban kids LOVE TO DANCE - and I do TONS of New England Country Dancing as well as folk dancing from various countries. IN fact, I have never taught at any suburban school where kids were as open to all kinds of dancing and loved it so much, as my kids do at this school. They beg for dances - any dances, and it is a joy for me, as Iam a dance /movement person. In addition, I have found that my urban kids have an aesthetic openness to classical music that my suburban kids never had. It's a pleasure. -- Laura Deutsch in Hartford.
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12/06 If you want to teach your kids a great (...possibly the first?) rap, show them the video "The Music Man" at the beginning -- the train scene -where Prof. Harold Hill stuns us all with his rhythmic ability and with change in tempo, according to how fast the train is moving. It's SO cool for kids to see. Brings a smile to my face each time I see it! -- Pat Boozer
----------------------------------
I teach in Madison, Wisconsin. At my elementary school nearly 45% of our students are free and reduced lunch, most of these students are African American. The rest of our school is comprised of college professor children. Quite a mix I assure you. Anyway, I've had some tough 4th and 5th grade years. Some have been succesful, some have not.
Last year, I thought I had a great hook... I got a grant for African Drums (I bought tubanos and djembes) the kids did love it and one group continued all year long and even performed outside of school (my first group to do so!) but 2 of my 5th grade groups were starting to disrespect both the drums and me...so I stopped.Then...I had a unit on THE BEATLES. I thought that would be a shoe in for sure. Well, the same group that continued with the drumming loved the Beatles...but the other 2 groups didn't.
So, I ended up doing patriotic music. I figured if they can't get into the Beatles...I was going to do songs that I figured they wouldn't give much less energy than they already were. They actually surprised me and did a wonderful job with Land that We Love (a partner song with America the Beautiful) and Fifty Nifty. Fifty Nifty is a HUGE hit every year!Other pieces I've done that my students (even the "tougher" ones) love are: Splish Splash! Wade in the Water I Heard it Through the Grapevine Journey to Hip Hop (a rap I wrote that I'm currently getting copyrighted...it traces the history of Hip Hop all the way back to Africa) Any rap...I wrote a new school song (it's mostly rap but has a sung chorus...that makes it Hip Hop in the "new" definition...I think) and the kids LOVE it! Just Give me the Beat...a sheet I got from Renee Boyer Alexander's workshop at our WMEA conference last year.
Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar - yep, even this...I have a simple ostinato for the Xylo they can play and then kids volunteer to take 8 beats and improvise using various instruments. By far...a favorite instrument of theirs is the Vibra Slap!...we even put some ostinatos together for this one.This year, I'm doing double Dutch rhymes and so far it's working great. Once they have the rhymes, we're putting hand clap patterns (for 2 kids to do) to them, and eventually we'll put them to the jump roping. Luckily, I have students in each class that are double Dutchers so I won't have to lead that part!! I've also got a couple of Elvis tunes picked out. Anyway, this type of music usually brings them together. Once I've got them, they'll do pretty much anything for me! I've even played (CD) a few current pieces in class...last year I played "I Know I Can" by Nox. They loved it! Great message too!
I usually do a STOMP unit with this age group too. A huge hit! (see Listening -- Rhonda Schilling
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************LULLABIES
FAVORITES:, Al La Puerta
All the pretty little horses
All through the nighT
Ally Bally
Baby's Boat
Baby Mine (Bette Midler)
Black Bird (Evan Rachel Wood)
Bye Baby Bunting
Bye Low Baby Oh
Bye'n Bye
Dance to Your Daddy
Daddy's Baby (James Taylor)
Dreamland (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
Fais do do
The Flower That Shattered the Stone (Olivia Newton-John)
Go to Sleep my Baby
Go to Sleep Now My Pumpkin
Golden Slumbers
Hush Little Baby-slower
Hushabye Mountain (Dick Van Dyke, from the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Soundtrack)
I Gave My Love a Cherry
I Don't Want To Live On The Moon (Ernie on Sesame Street Platinum: All-Time Favorites CD)
I love you
Inuit Lullaby
Jenny Rebecca (Olivia Newton-John)
Jim Along Josie
The Long Day Is Over (Norah Jones)
Moon, Moon, Moon (Laurie Berkner) My husband kids and I sing this in a round
Moon River (Kim Scanlon)
My Big Blue Boat
Now the Day is Over
One Tin Soldier
Rock-a-bye-baby
Skinnamarink a dink
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Slumber My Darling (Alison Krauss, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor & Yo-Yo Ma)
St. Judy's Comet (Paul Simon)
Starlight
Suo Gan
What a Wonderful World,
Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Ted Jacobs)
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06/07 INDONESIAN LULLABY I taped a mom singing [this song] to her little girl:
The English is "Baby go to sleep. Oh-, Baby go to sleep. If you do not go to sleep, mosquito will bite." x2
Indonesian: Nina bobo, o- ni-na bobo. Kalau tidak bo-bo, digigit nyamuk.
Melody: (english) mmmrd. rm,fsfmr. tttttrrfmmrd. (low t's)
Rhythm: ti-ti ti-ti ta ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta-a ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta ti-ti ta Z
The rhythm for Indonesian is (mmrd) ta ti-ti- taWe do actions of rock, sleep, rock , sleep, shake finger warning, thumb and pointer bite at back of other hand. If you can't figure this out... call me. 612-869-3004. It is simple to sing and they get a kick out the warning factor. We talk about the dry and rainy season.. not our 4 seasons. And during rainy season, more mosquitos. (And if baby is out of netted crib, because of being awake, might get more bites.) -- Nancy Paxson
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06/07 LA LA LEI (Swedish lapland - Nuska Olaf, sova han etc...) You can put their names or their baby siblings names in instead of Olaf. Change to "hon" for girls instead of "han" It is minor and very appealing. -- Nancy Paxson
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THE DAY IS NOW OVER (Music for Children Vol. I) John Fierabend publication "The Book of Lullabies" -- Helen Tormey Elementary Music Teacher New Burlington Elementary, Cincinnati, OH
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06/07 John Feierabend has an entire book of Lullabies out that are fantastic! -- Dana in MN
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BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Multicultural
Last year our school did a K-5 schoolwide multicultural interdisciplinary unit. I found a neat primary song that may fit your needs. Its called "Hello to All the Children of the World." It is found in the Wee Sing Around the WorldA good arrangement of "This Little Light of Mine" that includes the "on Monday..." section is arranged by Donald P. Moore, and is available through CPP Belwin, SA arrangement is #SV8840. My girls' group does this with choreography that is really fun!
My kids like it okay, but BY FAR they prefer a different version. It's called "Fifty States in Rhyme", and was originally part of the Liberty musical published by Jenson. It begins:
When I was small I studied U.S. geography
My teacher said, "Would you stand up and list the states for me?"
My knees began a-knockin, my words fell out all wrong,
Then suddenly, I burst out, with this silly little song,
Then the states are sung alphabetically, to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw"........Hine Ma Tov, Allan E. Naplan, text: Psalm 133:1, SA (in thirds), Boosey & Hawkes
Jamaican Market Place,Larry Farrow,SA,syncho,Jamaican, pub.Woodland HillsPress
Other Jewish songs: "Dodi Li" Traditional Hebrew Melody arranged for SSA and piano. Also "Shalom Chaverim" Traditional Israeli Song arranged for SA and piano. Both are lovely arrangements - Mark O'Leary has a real gift for choral arranging! He publishes as Mark O'Leary Music Publishing, 1 Anthony St., Ormond, 3204 Victoria. Ph/fax (03) 95785459 and in the ad. it says "Perusal copies available". These two arrangements are part of "Young Voices of Melbourne Choral Series"Dance of the Willow, Victoria Ebel-Sabo, opt. bass part, legato
Boosey & Hawkes,1994"A Wonderful Colorful Tapestry," by Bliss and David Angerman, Shawnee Press, E0351, 2-part. Complete choreography is also given. Fun to sing, easy to put together, and has a good message.One that we enjoyed and used as a concert theme in 4th/5th
En La Feria De San Juan, Leah Nemeth, Hispanic folksong, Posthorn Press, 4 parts(instrument sounds)
Consider the German folksong "Die Lorelei" - lovely ballad about the sirens that tempt the sailors along the Rhine River. Beautiful melody, easy harmonically as well.
American Dances, Alice Parker, Jenson, SA, semi-difficult, (On the Galilee, Betty Larkin, That Raging Canoe, 43509059, lively, fun, challenging trad. numbers
Care Selve, (fr. opera: "Atalanta"), Handel, arr. Henry Leck, unison, piano, HL-506
Heidenroslein, Schubert, arr. Henry Leck, unison, trad. (about a boy & a rose)
Because All Men Are Brothers (The Wide World Around) (sisters mentioned too!), Hassler, arr. T. Glazer, SA, Hal Leonard, 40326261
HASHIVENU Israeli Folk Song arranged by Doreen Rao published by Boosey and Hawkes OCTB6430 A beautiful setting of this beautiful canon.
S'VIVON Traditional melody [four part treble] arranged by Betty Bertaux published by Boosey and Hawekes OCTB6236
HINE MA TOV [2 part treble] by Allan E. Naplan OCTB6782 Here is the rousing closer to any concert. Like Dodi Li, it's easy to teach everyone in the audience the refrain so they can sing and dance along. My students LOVE the energy and drive of this piece!
AL SHLOSHA D'VARIM [2 part treble] by Allan E. Naplan published by Boosey and Hawkes OCTB6783 This is gorgeous. Long legato line. Beautiful accompaniment.
HAIDA [Unison / Two Part treble] Chassidic Round arranged by Henry Leck published by Plymouth Music Co., Inc. HL-516 This is one of my students' all time faves. It has a wicked piano part that adds to the excitement. Begin slowly and work everyone into a frenzy. The verse is in a simple A A B B form and can be learned very quickly and easily by everyone. We have had tons of fun with this one.
SHALOM, TO YOU MY FRIENDS [Two / Three Part treble] by Allan E. Naplan Although this selection uses English words, it expresses a beautiful thought - a very moving parting song that I am certain everyone will love. I introduced this to my choir last thursday and the children were instantly drawn to it.Catherine Glaser-Climie Cantaré Children's Choir Calgary, Alberta Canada
Pack She Back To She Ma,Dardess, Alfred Pub., 7912, syncho, Carribean style
All Night All Day & Swing Low Sweet Chariot(partner songs),
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************General Repertoire
12/11 CURRENT SONGS for School: Fireflies by Owl City, Firework by Katy Perry, Love Story by Taylor Swift, The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, It's My Life by Bon Jovi – Tracy http://www.musicbulletinboards.net, MZMMakers@aol.com
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12/11 WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD Loads of examples of the sign language on youtube - here is one of my favorite tutorials--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQMu9_O9Zh0&feature=related I am pretty sure that Hal Leonard has a choral version [with an accomp. Cd]
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SONG (MK8 - PLANK RD. PUB. - www.musick8.com) 07/05 SHALOM 10:2 (Peace) When I did this song with my choir, I would sing the viola solo at the beginning, telling them that I would try to get a viola player to play that (which, of course, I never did). Well, when it came close to concert time, and no viola, I decided to have the students "sing" the viola part on a lovely, dark "doo" -- it was GORGEOUS!! They even sang it as expressively as a violist would play it! It gave me goosebumps! WAY COOL!!! -- Betty Peterson
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07/05 SHALOM Plank Road Publishing MK8 10:2 When I did this song with my choir, I would sing the viola solo at the beginning, telling them that I would try to get a viola player to play that (which, of course, I never did). Well, when it came close to concert time, and no viola, I decided to have the students "sing" the viola part on a lovely, dark "doo" -- it was GORGEOUS!! They even sang it as expressively as a violist would play it! It gave me goosebumps! WAY COOL!!! -- Betty Peterson
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12/07 DON’T LET THE MUSIC STOP My choir used to do an octavo arrangement [of this song]. It was catchy, upbeat, quite learnable, and the kids loved it. Arranged for SA, most likely. - Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana
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12/06 “When I Close My Eyes” - Jim Papoulis - 2 part with cello. It is wrenchingly beautiful.- Kathleen Bragle
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Plank Road Publishing, MK8 magzine 16:3 has a lot of winners! One song that really resonated with me today was "You Could Be My Friend" from volume 16:3 last year.
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12/06 Eine Kleine Spufmusik by Linda Spevacek - The altos sing about only singing harmony, then the baritones sing about singing loud and holding our breath until we're black and blue! Everyone else is loo or scooby doo. Neat song...Heritage Choral Press, 3 pt mixed or SATB - Gail Noullet
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01/04 "A Folk Song Hand Jive": by Greg Gilpin and published by Warner Bros. Publications. We have the 2 pt. (SV99110) with the accompaniment CD (SV99110). It uses the traditional handjive pattern, and the kids really liked singing it. - Contributed by Suzanne DeVene
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Note: Plank Road Publishing publishes a magazine, MK8 Magazine, (5 issues per year) accompanied by CD accompaniments which has several songs in each issue (which are copyable for students) including bothe unison and 2-4 part songs. They make great program songs. See their website for more detail:
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05/21 Jack and Jill a la Amadeus By Hal H. Hopson, Shawnee Press, Inc. EA 126 a 2 part arrangement.
Cassette MC-131We used this with our 6th grade Honor Chorus a few years back. We really "schmaltzed' it up...was fun for both the kids & the audience. It is written in style of Mozart, with a recitative style section in the middle. We performed it with piano. Great Fun.
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11/01 Free Songs!!! Music with scores, midis and words!! http://www.concentric.net/~Gamba/
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Sing a Song of Nonsense, B. Dardess, Unison, piano, text covers many Mother Goose, and American folk songsHeaven Bell-A-Ring, Mary Goetze, unison, glock part, Boosey & Hawkes, 1985
Cripple Creek, Emily Crocker, lively mountain song w/clap, Jenson pub., 1981
Zoo Illogical,(Mongoose, Anteater, Llama, Giraffe, Hippo) Clare Grundman, Boosey & Hawkes, 1974
To Music, Betty Bertaux, (hymn style), SA, Boosey & Hawkes, 1987
I Will Bring You Brooches, Ruth Boshkoff, (text: R. L. Stevenson) Legato, Boosey,1993
A Menagerie of Songs(1.Bandicoot), Carolyn Jennings, Unison, S, SA, Schirmer
We just had our Spring Choral Concert (4th & 5th graders) Some pieces that we did that I loved were... "Heart of America" MK8
"Two by Two"...Donnelly & Strid
"Build Me a World"...Littleton
"Play for Me a Simple Melody"...arr. ShawSEND DOWN THE RAIN; ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND; BACH-A-ROCK; CRIPPLE CREEK
FROM WHERE I STAND; I AM BUT A SMALL VOICE; I'M GONNA SING
REFLECTIONS OF A LAD AT SEA; WHEN I'M SINGING THIS SONG;
WHO SAYS I CAN'T READ MUSIC; FOLLOW YOUR DREAM;Whole Earth Songs (Song cycle all about "recycling"), Alice Parker, Jenson pub., 2 part with varied styles, song # 1(Recycle), song # 2 (The Nothing Song)song # 3 (Sharing song) & has 10 verses(w/chorus) for solos, # 4 (Garbage Rag) 43509080
Candle On the Water, (Friendship) Hirschhorn & Kasha, Hal Leonard, 2 part, (fr. Pete's Dragon)(about friendship), 08570014
Bless Us All, (Muppet Christmas Carol), Paul Williams, SA, SAB, or SATB, Hal Leonard, 40225108
Kids Are Music, Alice Parker, choreographed, lively, opt. 2 part, Jenson, 40111022
Season's Greetings, (Medley: Deck, Up On The.., Over River, Jingle Bells) arr. Joyce Eilers, 2 part, Hal Leonard, 40225115
Inch Worm, by Frank Loesser, arr. by Harry Simeone, SSA, Shawnee Press
A Whole New World, (fr. Aladdin) 2 part, Hal Leonard, 08200077
The First Snowball of the Season, (melody: Take Me Out To....), Roberts, Pillar, Gotti, 2 part, Michael Brent Pub., 230715
A Caroling, Terry Kirkland, 2 equal parts, Heritage Press, H5866
Weekday Songbook, unison & 2 part partner songs for many occasions, N. Sleeth, Hinshaw, HMB-107, great collection!
Listen to the Rain,Cynthia Gray, legato, HV396, 2 part, Heritage Music Press
Kites, Geoffrey Bell, 3 part treble, Walton Music Corp., WW1193, Beautiful melody
Shine, Lessia, ("shine for everything good...") good melody, SA, Santa Barbara Music Pub., SBMP80, piano
Snow Is Falling, Ruth Elaine Schram, Alfred, 11357, cascading melody/parts
Hot Cup of Cocoa,Phyllis Wolfe, 2 pt, Heritage Music Press, H5863, cute
Over the River, Sherri Porterfield, 2 part, Heritage, 15/1015, interesting twist on trad. song with mixed meters: 3/8, 5/8, 6/8
The Clouds, Cynthia Gray, piano, opt. orff accomp., Heritage, HV114, minor, ("clouds won't you tell us what those tears are for?..."
Concerto for Choir and Cafeteria, 2 part (geared to older ele/jr high) Carl Nygard Jr., Hal Leonard, 08564015, features humorous text for themes by Gounod, Bizet, Mozart, Haydn, fun
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Disney My favorite Disney tune is, well, I have several ones..."Colors of the Wind" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" "Practice your Arpeggios" froom Pocahontas, Lion King and The Aristocats, respectively
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WINTER WIND, Victoria Ebel-Sabo, SA, Boosey & Hawkes, OCTB6746, beautiful programmatic music depicting the wolves in Northern Minnesota, opt. flute or oboe, piano DODI LI Nira Chen / arranged by Doreen Rao published by Boosey and Hawkes OCTB6679 This is a wonderful, energetic melody which is simple for everyone to learn[parents too!] and boasts an easy, uplifting descant to heighten everyone's enjoyment. I have often used this piece with my choir when we go on our school tour and teach the refrain to all of the children in the audience. After a few times speaking the words of the refrain [just to familiarize the children with the Hebrew words] everyone is up singing and dancing in no time.JUNIOR JAZZ: Beginning Steps to Singing Jazz by Kirby Shaw, Hal Leonard Pub.# 08666085, 2 part
My favorite arrangement is in the book Sing For America by Larry Mayfield, published by Hal Leonard, #08740391. It doesn't have a CD, but the accompaniment is GREAT! /// We have a very nice arrangement of THE STAR SPANGELED BANNER coming in the 5th issue of MUSIC K-8 (May/June) this year. It will be mailed in March... and has a nice orchestral accompaniment on cassette & CD.
LIGHT A CANDLE by Marta Keen arr. by Jay Althouse Two Part Alfred16327 The text is very moving: Light a candle, hold a sign of hope in your hand. Light a candle, let it shine across the land. The hour that seems the darkest turns quickly into day Light a candle, let it show us the way.Light a candle, for the child who sleeps in the cold. Light a candle, let our heart's compassion unfold. A light will make the darkness seem easier to bear. Light a candle for the hope that we share.
Candle on the Water (from Pete's Dragon), Dona Nobis Pacem, Dors Dors P'tit Bebe, Drunken Sailor (lots of verses in many sources), Go Tell It on the Mountain, Oh Johnny(you may know this as 'Cruel War" from the 60's, Rocky Mountain, Movin' On, Shalom Chaverim, Rocky Mountain & Liza Jane (partner songs), Wade in the Water, Froggy Went a-Courting, New River Train, There's No Hiding Place Down There, Cape Cod Chantey, Tom Dooley
* Some songs that I use successfully with secondary students include: Hot Cross buns, Rocky Mountain, Dinah, Chicken on a fencepost, Ida Red, Li'l Liza Jane, Grandma Grunts, Shortnin' Bread, John Kanaka, Sailing on the Ocean, Ive Been to Harlem, Four White Horses, Weavily Wheat, Who's that Yonder, Standin' in the need of Prayer, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Great Big House in New Orleans, Zion's Children, What shall we do with a drunken sailor, Oh Sinner man, "Solitary Snowflake" by Jerry Estes, Alfred choral score #11619 beautiful
"Eine Kleine Kazoo Musik" is in K8 volume 6/No.2 Nov/Dec 1995.Eine Klein Kazoo; I did this last year with my bells ensemble. I told the audience that they had decided to drop the bells (not literally) for this number and experiment. We used kazoos, wood block, don't recall what else but I know I filled in the sound effects. We even used a rubber duckie for the squeeze toy. They marched in the Sousa exerpt, knee bends in another and the chorus joined in the B-I-N-G-O part. The audience loved it. BTW, they were very serious in their performance which made it all the more funnier."Eine Kleine Kazoo Musik" is in K8 volume 6/No.2 Nov/Dec 1995.
Some favorites with my 4th/5th (usually):
(Note: MK8=Plank Rd Publishing: http://www.musick8.com/
"My Quilt" is from K8 Vol.7, No.1 A great song!
Yonder Come Day (Georgia Islands Freedom Song)Fifty Nifty United States (MacMillan)
FIFTY NIFTY We held up state names written with large letters on tagboard. We lifted them (up with straight elbows and down quickly) from random spots in the group so that the audience couldn't tell where the next sign was coming from. When "Washington is the Best" comes, another 50 or so "Washington" signs went up. In the middle of the back row we had three very tall letters, U S A, which were put up at the right time and held to the end. As we are holding the last note, everyone put their state signs up again. (You could tack little lights on the USA letters to make it more dramatic.) My tall letters where on tagboard tacked to thin plywood.I Believe I Can Fly (Space Jam)
We Go Together (Grease)
and their NUMBER ONE FAVORITE: "PROUD" from MK8
Fifty Nifty United States, by Ray Charles, c.Roncom Music (try Shawnee Press?)
"Information Age" MK8
"Fifty Nifty" Ray Charles
"What's More American?" not sure of composer and it's at school.
"Oh, Susanna"
"Clementine"
"Sacramento" (a gold rush song that is great for them to make up their own lyrics for)
"Hollywood"
"Give My Regards to Broadway"
"California Here I Come"
My 5th graders are doing "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the WavesSurfin' the Net (MK-8, vol.8-3) choreographed and with sun glasses
Skin and Bones / Ghost of John, WOM 1 and WOM 3, accomp. with Em chord on guitar or bass xylophone and LIGHTS OUT !!!
Star-Spangled Banner
Oh, Susanna (WOM 4)
Don Gato (WOM 4)
Cha-Cha Chihuahua (MK-8, vol.9) Recorders, singing, choreography (a new favorite)
Most anything they can accompany on bars or guitar becomes a favorite for the year.
"When I First Came to This Land"
"Rattlin Bog" (both are cummulative songs)
"Funga Alafia" (Rondo form)
"Follow the Drinking Gourd" (5th grade)
"Free At Last" (MK 8)
"Goober Peas"
"Hard Boiled Egg" (they're new favorite) (MK 8)
"The Alpine Song"
"Evergreen/Everblue" (Raffi/STM)
"Old Abram Brown"Show Choir Repertoire
Stay Tuned - Mark Brymer (Hal Leonard) Whacky Sounds MK-8 - with Stomp-like boomwhacker moves Scarin' Alive - MK-8 - with John Travolta disco moves You've Got a Friend in Me (from Toy Story)(Hal Leonard?) Knowledge is Power MK-8 - the kids choreographed this one Mashed Potatoes MK-8 (we did the dance the mashed potatoes) I Can't Stand Still Under Those Raindrops MK-8 (We did some swing dancing during the interlude, modified swing dance moves during singing.) Splish Splash - Kirby Shaw - Hal Leonard (we did bath towel choregraphy) It was really cute and fun!
Best Buddies - Kirby Shaw - Hal Leonard-This is a medley of friend songs. I really like it Hats- Hal Leonard, by Hank Beebe. hat choreography written it. He also has goves, shoes, and something else along the same line. Up With People - Warner Brothers- New arrangement from the 70s Santa's Frosty Follies - Hal Leonard - Revue, use all or just some One of Those Songs - Mac Huff -Hal Leonard - a great medley of old nonsense songs such as Wolly Bully, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Doo Waa Ditty, Puple People Eater, etc. Rock Around the Clock - from Music Moves Me revue -Ruth Artman, H. Leonard; Disney Spectacular (Hal Leonard) Revue - use all or part Music Moves Me - Hal Leonard, by Ruth Artman - from the all school revue Mama Don't 'Low -Robert Thygerson - Heritage Press I've Got the Music, and the Music's in Me - Kirby Shaw - Hal Leonard Promised Land - Natalie Sleeth - Sacred Music Press When You're Smiling -Pete Schmutte - (we made giant happy faces from cardboard pizza circles and did a routine using them) Grandparents - Hank Beebe -Hal Leonard We Want To Sing- Roger Emerson - Jenson Kids Are Music Style - Dave and Jean Perry - Shawnee Press Hey, Look At Us Now - Roger Emerson - Hal Leonard Kids Are Music - Little By Little - Natalie Sleeth - Hinshaw Music Feelin' Alive - Wolfe - Heritage Music Me And My Shadow - Artman - Hal Leonard A Little Song for Sharing - Patterson & Beall - Hal Leonard Lion King Medley - Hal Leonard The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Abilene Music Inc. When the Saints Go Marching In - Artman - Kendor Music Co.BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************GRADUATION
06/10 EIGHTH GRADE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_fFJLIeD9s&feature=related
Green Day's “Time of Your Life.” --- Jyminia In Camden County
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12/07 GRADUATION: There is a cute song in vol 8/5 called "Time To Graduate" (Plank Road Publishing, www.musick8.com) It's very easy and appropriate for Kindergarten. You can teach it in a couple lessons.
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06/07 My 5th graders are singing "We are the People of the 21st Century," "Adios Amigos" (Volume 10:1) (there are a lot of Hispanic families in my school) and "Champions," (Volume 14:5) all from MK8. (www.musick8.com) We did "We are the People..." last year and the kids learned it very quickly. -- Dana WesselBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Grieving
12/03 "Thinking of You" MK8
"Remember You" MK8
"Can't Cry Hard Enough" (don't remember who did this)
"I Will Remember You" Sarah McLaughlin -- Contributed by Tracy Bulletin Boards for the Music Classroom
http://www.musicbulletinboards.net/
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You need to call J.W.Pepper and have them send you "Dancing With The Angels" It would be perfect and it's absolutely beautiful. It's by Joyce Eilers and available for 2-part or 3-part mixed. an excerpt is...."And though our hearts are broken, his love is shining through. For, he is in that happy place where life is fresh and new. He is dancing with the angels sharing joy and laughter in a place where peace and love will always reign.......he is greeting friends and family that he has know before........." - Contributed by Deaetta Szulis
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04/03 I have used a song, "When the River Meets the Sea" from the muppets "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas" for a similar situation. I just learned it from the video and taught it to the kids."When the mountain touches the valley, all the clouds are taught to fly,
Thus our souls shall leave this land most peacefully.
Though our minds be filled with questions, our hearts will understand
When the river meets the sea............."
You can find it on the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD
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05/21 The kids could also sing "Songs My Mother Taught Me" by Antonin Dvorak
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05/21 Song: Sometimes I Wonder (minor, about suffering, pain, "I want to feel compassion"; music and lyrics) http://www.outoftheark.com/songs/Instructions_2.htm
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01/02 (ref. to 9/11/01): The Cheryl Sawyer poem, "One" is "one" of many beautiful thoughts expressed on this link. Hope you enjoy.
http://www.pageonelit.com/Tragedy/September112001.html
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11/01 Grieving: The song is "A Visitor From Heaven". We had it sung at our son's funeral. It's a beautiful song. Twila Paris sings it and it's on one of her CD's. Let me know if you need more info and I can look it up.
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We had a murder-suicide in our school this year--dad killed mom. The song that we did that seemed to help was "Inscription of Hope," arranged by Z. Randall Stroope for 2-part voices, Heritage Publications. It talks about having hope even when it's difficult. It's inspirational without being "religious." The song is taken from an inscription found on the walls of a cellar where Jews hid during the Holocaust. The words are "I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining, and I believe in love, even when there's no one there...And I believe in God even when he is silent, I believe through any trial, there is always a way." It goes on... Another possibility, although there are references to God, is "Friends" by Michael W. Smith. We've used it for graduations and good-byes. My sympathies to you and all your students, but what a great thing to help them use music to grieve. ---------------
Baby Death:
How about Jesus Loves Me or "Children of the Heavenly Father"--a Swedish hymn which first verse goes Children of the heavenly father safely in his bosom gather Fledling bird or star in heaven such a refuge ne'er was given. I don't think that is quite right, but close--and there are several other verses also. It's a sweet, tender song.
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10/01 Grieving: On Eagles Wings. It in in the Catholic Hymnals and Brethren Hymnals.BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************MUSIC FOLDER
I use portfolios (manila folders) with my 1-3 graders. The students decorate the folders with music symbols or drawings of instruments. We also put listening sheets, composer study sheets, theory sheets, puppet coloring sheets, etc in the folder. By 3rd grade, we also include original music compositions. Using folders is a good way to show parents that a lot goes on in music class!--- Leah IsenbergBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************MUSICALS
07/13 “THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAT" by Andy Beck My Fifth grade ended the year with [this musical]. (I chose it as I had several kiddos interested in solos).---- Elizabeth Tummons, Kindergarten - Fourth Grade Music Specialist, Southern Boone County Public Schools- Ashland, Missouri
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07/13 ] DAVY CROCKETT (Disney)
“LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW” by Jerry Estes. Really fun, short songs, very few solos, expandable if you want, easy to stage. ----- Rita K. Oglesby
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07/13 THE GRANNY AWARDS is the best show I've ever done. Lots of little groups of children performing little skits with easy to learn songs inbetween. Involves three pigs, three, bears, clocks, and can be expanded. 07/13 COWBOY MUSICALS: Go West - Jacobson, Emerson
Tall Tales and Heroes - Wilson, Hawthorne
Adventures of Lewis and Clark - Emerson, Jacobson and Billingsby
How the West Was Won - Newman (may not be in print anymore)
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12/12 The American Dream (Jacobson ). I loved doing this show but it really is more of a revue though - very history oriented. ------ Kathleen BragleUp On the Housetop or December in Our Town; They are songs about the holidays celebrated in December and/or around the holiday seasons. Classroom teachers could do the dialog and research the various countries and traditions with the students. They could even write their own dialog based on their research with the songs interspersed throughout. ---- Todd in Santa Fe
There are many options on our subcategory page in Musicals and Revues: http://www.musick8.com/html/store_page.php?display=subcat&cat_id=13&subcat_id=111
including Kathleen's suggestion:The American Dream,
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=1370 ----- Kristyn Johnson12/12 Take a look at "The Castaways" if it's still in print. Fictional story based on the orphan trains in the 1800's ------ Jane Rivera
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06/10 5th-6th GRADES: MY PLANET, YOUR PLANET http://www.musick8.com/html/current_tune.php?songorder=1&numbering=86
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12/07 Try Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., pioneerdrama. com. They have a catalog of original shows that are reasonable to produce. -- Kim Markovich12/06 DISNEY MUSICALS:
“Disney Kids,” “Getting To Know,” & “Broadway Junior”
See Plank Road Publishing http://www.musick8.com/ 1-800-437-0832 -- Justin Staley, Web Designer/List Administrator
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I did these three with 2d and 4th combined:
ACHOO! It's an old one, but I love [this musical]
02/05 AT THE HOP A few years ago I did this peppy, rock and roll type play with my 3rd through 5th grade choir.BACH TO THE FUTURE by Jill Gallina. This got rave reviews by staff and community. The kids really got into learning about Bach. The books in our school library were snatched up quickly.
12/07 "THE AMERICAN DREAM" - more a pageant than a musical?
10/08 BUGZ: We decorated my room (which is the stage for the MPR) with fish that we made from old CDs. It was AWESOME! I went to the art room for a week during their music time, and the kids brought in old CDs - the kind that you get as freebie samples in the mail, and other 'throw-away' CDs. I bought 8x11.5 sheets of that foamy plastic - it's in all different colors at Walmart and JoAnn's in the craft sections. I had a template of a fish that we traced onto the foam sheets, and then the kids cut them out. There was a small hole that they cut in the middle to match up with the hole in the CD. They took a contrasting color of foam sheet and traced and cut out a template for the fins. Then they glued their CDs on both sides of the fish-shaped foam, matching up the hole in the center. Their 'fin' shape was then folded lengthwise several times until we could fit it into the hole in the CD and, and we pulled it halfway through. We plumped each side of the fin out, until it looked good, and then we put fishing line through the hole, tied it off, and hung each fish from the ceiling in my room, with different lengths of fishing line, to give the appearance of depth. We put spotlights out in the audience to shine and make the CDs sparkle, and a small fan in the back of the room, aimed at the ceiling kept the fish moving and swaying. We hung down crepe paper streamers for 'seaweed', and our background set was painted with coral and underwater plant stuff. Before the show started, we turned out all the lights on the stage and in the MPR, and all you could see was an occasional fish hitting the ambient light in the room and flashing momentarily. It was SO COOL!!!! The kids each took their fish home after the show, and I made a bunch of extras for parents to buy after the show. By the time folks left the school that night, I had sold about 50 fish at $2 apiece, and that will be used for 'seed money' to purchase another musical, the next time I decide to do one. --- Robin Hopper
11/08
"THE SNEEZE THAT SAVED CHRISTMAS". I did it several years ago with grades 1-3. Very cute and fun! --- Jason Skanes01/07 BUGZ - They made the beetle/ladybug costumes from poster board, cut into shape the then decorated. Boys were green/black and girls of course red/white. Wore them on their backs.Very easy and cute.-- Linda in MD
01/07 BUGZ - Slide show: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/Bugz/?action=view¤t=1165380728.pbw
06/07 BUGZ I had so many kids when I did "Bugz" that I added the song "Beetle Bug Bop" for my 1st grade boys to sing. It's from the 50's and I just found it by a google search. A sister/brother rockabilly team from way back. CD is a hoot. Very nasal. I would think I have a midi or Band in a Box file somewhere, as well as the words. New computers this year, so some files are ???? I think it was probably a MAC BIAB file....... Let me know if interested. You could certainly do "The Ants Go Marching" "They're Just Bugs", etc. Lots of songs out there.... Linda Barnhart
06/05 BUGZ: My second graders (all 170 of them...phew!) just performed BUGZ last night. They were all in costume! My parents are GREAT, so I left it up to them to make their own costumes as assigned by class (girls and boys were assigned different costumes by class). Students who for whatever reason could not come up with a costume were accommodated. Luckily, they come to music in 6 different groups and that is exactly how many "acts" there are. All kids sang every song, but there was one class at a time up on the stage performing the script and choreography. The rest of the children were on risers to the side of the stage and classes rotated onto the stage when it was their turn. It worked very nicely. Anyhow, I personally made all the butterfly wings for the girls in "Things Change" because I wanted the "metamorphosis" effect. I am by NO MEANS a Martha Stewart...I don't even sew buttons. Here's what I did: I found some AWESOME flowy fabric at Hancock and had them cut it into one yard pieces. For each piece, I gathered it in the middle and secured it with a ponytail holder ('cause rubber bands can break too easily). At that point, it looked like a giant bowtie. Then I attached a ring of fabric covered elastic band to the top of each side for the girls to hold onto (did this with LOTS of staples layered on top of each other...once again I do NOT sew!). Then, I made some "backpack" style straps that they could put their arms through that were attached to the ponytail holder. Here are some pictures of what this looked like (as well as some other pictures taken after the performance just so you can see some costumes...unfortunately, I don't have any pics on my camera of Army Ants, Ladybugs, or Fireflies, but they looked AWESOME! The parents really came through.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/16c38117.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/PicnicReprise.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/beesmaggotweevil.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/05e34653.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/butterfliesandspiders.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/BUGZstage.jpgHopefully, those links work! This looked awesome because the girls started the song with their "wings (arms) folded across their chests while the boys (caterpillars) did choreo. Then on the "You will come to see how beautiful..." part, they spun around and at the climax of the music, their wings unfurled...it was really pretty. And talk about cheap to make! Anyway, for anyone who decides to do BUGZ, know that it is a real crowd-pleaser! We had so much fun doing this! -- Marti Rankin
06/05 BUGZ: I did Bugz several years ago and designed my own wings. I think I actually drew out a pattern of a wing and cut it out of material as one big wing with a head hole cut out. Then I sewed the wings together across the top, but toward the middle left room for the children’s arm to go in. The front of the wings were split down the middle and sewn down. They ended up putting them on like a shirt, so if their arms were extended out to the side, the material draped over the arms and fluttered down behind them. I wish I could draw it for you. It worked really well.. Then I just decorated the material with felt dots. I also had the kids (all the kids) make their own antennae out of pipe cleaners, so all the students were wearing something. Now, I am doing this one again this year and Theatre House in Kentucky has some very nice and inexpensive butterfly wings and dragon fly wings etc.... www.theatrehouse.com
I had the butterfly wings have enough material so that the students wrapped their arms around themselves to form the cocoon and spread their wings at the appropriate time. My ladybugs...I made small red capes that came to a point in th middle of the bottom and tied them around the neck. Then I put two big black dots and a small black triangle at the bottom for the....bug bottom. The army ants are easy....dress them in fatigues and give them black antennae.Linda in OhioFor our butterfly costumes, we made brown capes for the kids. They came out with their arms down, so they were "wrapped" in the capes, and when they needed to become beautiful butterflies, they raised their arms up, to show the underlining of the capes. The underlinings were all beautifully decorated like butterflies, with bright colors and sequins, etc. It looked great! Love, Robin from Alaska
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12/03 BUGZ The kids loved it. I always need a little more when I do these programs. I used all of grades 1 and 2 (6 classes) and each class was a bug. First grade girls were "ladybugs" and 1st grade boys did an old 50's tune called "The Beatle Bug Bop" Then 1 second grade class were the "Army Ants" and one were the "Fireflies" I need one more number, so the last second grade class were bees and we sang "Bees are Buzzing" from Music K-8. Lots of fun! I let parents do most of the costumes and they were super. I did the butterflies out of wild printed fleece. Just cut them out and used glitter glue to spice them up. Ladybugs and Beetles made their backs in the Literacy Lab with that teacher, out of posterboard. Adorable! - Contributed by Linda in MD07/03 BUGZ: Fireflies: Our fireflies wore all black, and we made wings out of florescent green posterboard, attached with elastic that went over their shoulders. We made antennae out of florescent green material (bandana headband style) with pipecleaners sewed into them. Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store donated flashlights and batteries. -- Contributed by Jennifer Biles
THEN I got gold balloons, blew them up only slightly (have you ever tried to pop a deflated balloon???) and tied it around the waist/hips so that it was on the kid's fanny. Looked cute! After the program the kids and I were talking and wondered if we could somehow get a little flashlight in there to light up!!
I had bought some small ones from Oriental Trading, and believe it or not, they would fit inside the balloon! I don't think they would be bright enough ; we can't get our 'performing venue' (aka lunchroom - security lights can't be turned off) dark. I don't have a spotlight for that reason. Wish I could, then we could do some black light stuff. But I digress -
They carried the little flashlights and blinked them and shone them around the audience. I 'm not sure they were even seen.On their heads they had some 'antennae'. I bought some cheap-o headbands from OTC ; these had smiley-face stickers on them. I think they were $2.95 for 12 or something. I just pulled of the stickers and bought some pompoms at Walmart and hotglued them on - worked great. All of the performers had these on (120 + first graders) but they didn't take me long to make at all. -- Contributed by Mary Hauth
04/03 BUGZ: To create the butterfly catepillar thing I took posterboard and attached a pie shaped piece to each kids arm. I covered one side with cheesecloth and that was the cocoon/catepillar side and the inside I covered with different colored pieces of torn tissue paper. Then the kids sang the beginning with their arms folded across their chests and when they changed into butterflies they flung their arms open wide to expose their "wings". If you were a sewer you could do this with fabric probably just as easily, but I am NOT a sewer! -- Contributed by Amy Finnerty
04/03 BUGZ: I made sure my butterflies has soft fabric wings that just hung down from there arms, i.e., no posterboard or anything like that. Then, we wrapped them in cheesecloth. When it came time to morph, they each had an assistant bug on stage to unwrap them. It was beautiful, easy, and cheap. -- Contributed by Jennifer Biles
04/03 BUGZ: I am doing this program now! I changed the caterpillars to cocoons for 2 reasons: 1. the kids knew that the caterpillars have to turn into cocoons before they can turn into butterflies and 2. I could come up with an idea for the costume if they were cocoons. this is the main reason!
For the cocoons I measured the kids from right at their arm pits to just below their knees. I cut a piece of material that long, sewed it at the top and bottom, leaving the ends open. I am wrapping the material around them and using velcro to hold it together. during "Times Change" (towards the end) someone is coming up behind them and undoing the velco. the cocoon will fall of and underneath on their arms from their wrist to upper arm I've taken material cut it at an angle and gathered it to make it look like wings. I'm holding it on their arms with elastic. I am not a seamstress, so I had to
think of something that I could do. I barely can sew a hem! I changed the words before they sing "Things Change" to say something about listening to the cocoons-instead of the caterpillars. I think that was the only place I had to change.-- Contributed by Robin Ankrom
04/03 BUGZ: My maggot was a student with great sef-esteem. I also visited with his mom about it prior to giving the part to him and she thought it would work. I had him say the part in a very dry, nasal tone. He brought the house down.The next year when we had Talent Day - guess what his talent was?!?! That's right, "I'm a maggot"! He was a hit once again.
10/02 BUGZ: I did this a couple years ago with second graders and found a wonderful resource for "hats" (made like headbands") for all kinds of creatures. The teachers made them as an art project and they were SOOO cute and VERY simple -- then I had the kids dress in appropiately colored sweatsuits (i.e. yellow for bees, ) for antennae I bought cheap headbands from Oriental Trading Co and attached pipe cleaners to those. They really stayed on their heads that way.
The "hat" book is Paper Hat Tricks II (there are three books, I have them all and have used them extensively) by Patt Newbold & Anne Diebel can't remember where I got them but this info is on the back of the book:
Paper Hat Tricks 43346 Serenity Dr Northville MI 48167 810-349-2560 517-529-4343
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BUGZ: I had lots of fun doing this with my 1st and 2nd! For all the bugs we bought really cheap plastic headbands and twisted 2 chenille sticks (long pipe cleaners) around them to make antennae.My ladybugs wore red t-shirts with paper black dots stuck on. Because our parents here are really involved, I mostly sent out a list of costume suggestions from the Bugz teacher's manual, and the parents put together the costumes. They ranged from simple to elaborate and were all wonderful.
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I did this musical 2 years ago with the 2nd grade. We loved it! One of my favorite costumes was made by a boy & his father. They hot-glued cotton balls all over a sweat suit to be the boll weevil. It was so cute. I usually have a committee of moms to take care of the costumes. I think you will love doing Bugz.02/05 BUGZ I made butterfly wings from some bright fleece that I got. There was actually a Halloween costume that was fleece printed to look like a butterfly, but I could only find a couple of those at the fabric store and one student actually had one at home. I bought bright patterned (sort of tie dye looking) fleece and cut them out in the wing shape ( think cape). Fairly cheap, and really pretty. Now the cocoon, that's another story! By the way, my first grade girls made their ladybug costumes in the literacy lab. They used red poster board and cut them into shape and added the black spots. There is a picture here: http://www.alt.wcboe.k12.md.us/mainfold/schoopag/elementary/paramount/bugs/bugs.htm The first grade boys were beetles and sang an old rockabilly song called "the Beatle Bug Bop". The mother made the dragon fly costume and it was awesome. My lead army ant stole the show! Such fun. Enjoy this one. Linda in MD
02/05 BUGZ: I had the butterflies be in cocoons and when it was time for them to be butterflies, one of the kids from the choir came out and took the cocoon off of their assigned butterfly. Underneath they had butterfly wings attached to their arms with safety pins. You couldn't see the safety pins off the stage. I just used white material, measured how big around it needed to be for each child, turned it under and stitched it down at the top and bottom. I just wrapped it around the child. On the back to hold it together I used velcro. I'm not a seamstress, putting in a hem is a challenge for me. So if I can do it, anyone can. I maade most of the costumes for the program. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I am very willing to share. That's what this list is for! Robin in NE
02/05 BUGZ: our butterfly costumes were pretty simple. Their wings were just colorful fabric with a loop on either end. We put a loop on each wrist with the fabric against the child's back. Then we wrapped them up in cheese cloth. We had other bugs unwrap them during Things Change and when their arms were free, they just raised them up and voila! There were these beautiful wings.
04/03 BYE, BYE BIRDIE
For those of you looking for musicals, I wanted to let you know that Tams-Whitmark has a 1 hour version of Bye, Bye Birdie that I just did to absolutely rave reviews. As you know you can't cut, add, change anything when working with Tams, or MTI and the like, so it is impossible to do a full length musical with Elementary kids.
When I called to inquire about what shows they did have, i was told about thsi i hour version. The show is actually cut for cruise ships and Vegas shows and was perfect for our needs. Several scenes and some great songs are cut, but it worked for us. Check it out! -- Contributed by Adrienne Werring04/02 "CAPS FOR SALE" in the Music and You (MacMillan) 1988, Kindergarten books. I have done it with Kindergarten and we had a great time.
08/02 CELEBRATE YOU AND ME I did this musical with grades 5/6 They loved it. It would work for grade 3 also but you might not have them sing some of the harmony parts. The choreography is wonderful. I highly recommend it!
10/02 CHRISTMAS Assuming that 'Christmas Pageant' is the same as what we in the UK call "Nativity Play" then have a look at
http://www.outoftheark.com/index2.htm
I use loads of the Out of the Ark music and it's wonderful. They do have suppliers in the US (accomplished music, I think), but I think the UK one is better to navigate before ordering from the Accomplish in the US (just my opinion). You can listen to samples anyway - be a change to hear a young UK singers?They have plays for aged 3 - 6 and above.
In case you need some translations:
KS 1 (key stage 1) = aged 4 - 7
KS 2 (key stage 2) = aged 8 - 1110/08 CHRISTMAS I used no extra instruments at all and didn't add any songs to the 20 minute program. There are no religious connotations whatsoever! It's all about the TREES and being kind to others for their differences!!! I loved it and so did the audience. The kids really enjoyed it as well. There's definitely something for everyone!
Song: TIME TO DECORATE THE TREE - opening song
Song: I'M GONNA BE SANTA'S TREE
Song: TINY TREE RAP
Song: THE MARCH OF THE CHRISTMAS TREES
Song: CHRISTMAS IS
Song: O CHRISTMAS TREE
Song: WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS --- Caryn Mears, Kennewick, WA10/05 CHRISTMAS COOKIES AND HOLIDAY HEARTS - I have done [this musical] twice and it has gone over very well each time -- Monica Autry
11/01 CHRISTMAS AT THE O.K. CORRAL I am NOT, repeat NOT sewing dresses or brown vests for the roughly 300 kids i have performing! mine are scrounging around in their own closets for jeans (opt. skirts for girls), bandanas (aka. "do rags" around here), and some kind of long sleeved shirt. what i'll provide each one: a cowboy hat made out of construction paper (super easy, super cute, and super CHEAP!) with glittery headband. the kids can pick any color they want and keep them after the show. the main characters:
Bubble Gum Bart: stiff felt cowboy pink! hat like the paper ones with a big black BG on it, haven't figured out his clothes yet, black and pink. i'm using laminated pink construction paper pieces cut to look like bubble gum blobs. he's going to stick them all over people and the set while i play his song again after Bubble Gum Goo. two way tape or masking.
Candy Cane Kid: same as BG but white and red. probably get a white suit from Good Will and attach red stripes.
Betsy: long skirt (i did make it), straw hat held on with elastic cord strap, white gloves (Halloween!), crochetted shawl found in friend's dress up box (ask your friend teachers!), high collar frilly blouse (second hand store). Mrs. Mayor: skirt like Betsy's but of fancy Christmas material (like she's rich), fake fur cut like stole, straw hat (Dollar Store) with gawdy flower on it, high collar blouse (2nd hand).
Ironsides the blacksmith: apron cut out of thick, black table clothy material (JoAnn's Fabrics), tee shirt, jeans, horse shoe in his hand (made of silver poster board).
Scoops: white apron with felt ice cream cone sewn on and "Scoops" ironed on, long sleeved shirt (2nd hand) with over sleeves.
Quickwhiskers: i haven't done him yet, but prob. an apron of some kind and a striped shirt, fake mustache of course!
Santa: i already have a suit for him
Telegraph elf: typical elf outfit with telegraph visor on and oversleeves (you know, those garter type things that slip on over guys' sleeves to protect from crud) out of white material and elastic at top and bottom.
I actually bought two tumbleweeds from a farm in Kansas. figured i'd try to find a couple hay bales and a free-standing cactus or two from the local Party Store. That'll prob. do it for scenery. i'd love to have backdrops of the town but have uncooperative art teachers this year and refuse to ruin another holiday season for myself slaving away!8/01 CHRISTMAS AT THE O.K. CORRAL
I would also recommend "Christmas at the O.K. Corral".
We did a Prehistoric Christmas last year with K and 1. It was a great success, I can only recommend it. Of course, it is by Teresa Jennings!
I have the Scrooge Musical--but only the teacher edition--dialogue and complete accompaniment score. Mine is by James Leisy - Shawnee Press. I also have the elementary version called, "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol." I have used that many times with elementary classes.08/04 CHRISTMAS SOCK ROCK by John Jacobsen is CHARMING. A real audience pleaser!
06/06 DECEMBER IN OUR TOWN by Roger Emerson
I absolutely loved [this musical]. I did it with my 5ths last December. It is a collection of about 8 songs with a diolog that connnects them to each other. It has secular as well as a beautiful sacred song called Innkeeper and a great Hanukkah song. -- Susan Birchman10/05 DECEMBER NIGHTS, DECEMBER LIGHTS http://www.clarusmusic.com/
[Hanukkah/La Posada/Christmas/Kwaanza, K-9, 25 minutes] Sally Albrecht is brilliant! I did this musical with my whole school, in two separate nights. I added a few songs to make it a 45 minute show though. As I recall, the "cast" was pretty flexible. I had different speakers depending on what grade level was on the stage, and I did three grade levels on each night. I really liked the arrangments, esp. the very do-able 2-part harmony songs. The choreography suggestions were helpful too and fairly easy to follow. As I remember, I only used them as suggestions and sort of made up my own stuff depending on the grade level's ability. I think I even created my own custom script for it too since I had to tweak the show for my big group. I don't have my "December Nights, December Lights" binder at home, but when I get to school I could send you some things, if you think it would be helpful. One thing we did that we now do for ALL December shows is put luminaries along the sidewalks leading up to the school. This forshadows the theme of lights for the show as people come in and creates a very special, festive atmosphere. I also purchased A LOT of battery operated candles, cheap, from "Dollar Tree" for the kids to hold for one of the songs. We turned off the lights and the children turned on their candles during the song. It was so special!!! -- Meredith Harley Inserrahttp://www.sheetmusicplus.com/ 06/05 DR. SEUSS, WE LOVE YOU (Lower Elem.) I did this musical last year with my 1st graders and it was a huge hit. I even split up the chorus into " Dr. Seuss" "We Love You" "We really do" "We Love you" and had individual kids play the melody on the xylophones, glocks and metallophones. -- Rhonda Schilling
EARTH DAY: Every Day Is Earth Day from MK8 is awesome. I've done it 3 or 4 times and always get lots of compliments.
EARTH DAY: Assignment Earth from back in the early 90's and its sequel Update Earth: Kids "Rock the World" for the Enviroment by Roger Emerson are both excellent! --- Leslie in OhioELEPHANT'S CHILD, THE
07/03 I did "Elephants Child" recently. Very classy music but no orff arrangements. Since it is set in Africa, you could augment with some african style music. We added "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and I had 4th grade recorders play the theme. Very simplified theme using just four notes. 05/03 ELEPHANT'S CHILD "Wait-a-bit thornbush": A stool wrapped in green paper with 'thorns' made from tightly rolled pieces of brown construction paper; 'Fever tree' made from tightly rolled pieces of newspaper sprayed orange, constructed using masking tape and hung with green construction paper leaves/scotch tape;
Crocodile: parent cut 'raised scales' from green foam sheets and taped them to back of dark grey clothing.
Elephant: headband with grey furry large elephant ears attached, grey clothing. Snake: material spotted with black and brown, tail-same material stuffed and attached, visor covered in this material with 'eyes' on top
I changed the choregraphy a little using it with K-3. Great musical! (Sandy Toms)
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04/03 ELEPHANT'S CHILD For the river, we used a very long piece of gray-green fabric stretched between 2 yard sticks held up by 2 dancers and shaking it so it looked liked waves.For costumes, we used tons of inexpensive fabrics. We made swatches of fabrics in all kinds of African prints and animal prints. They wore them as a 'sash.' I ordered long-sleeved irregular t-shirts online for about 2.00 each. Everyone used that as a base for the costumes. We also ordered animal masks from Oriental Trading Co. Everyone wore black pants. The elephant's child was a simple serape-type thrown over her head made of gray vinyl fabric with a belt (that same style out of animal fur fabric for the baboons, etc.). For the fever trees, we ripped up pieces of fabric and stapled them all over their long-sleeved t-shirts. The kolokolo bird used a feather mask and glued feathers on the t-shirt.
For the Elephant's Child's nose, I used plastic tubing from the hardware store from the plumbing section.(basically a slinky with plastic over it to keep it together) and covered it in a gray panty-hose leg. The bunched panty hose kept it together and then expanded during Pull. She put it on right before that song so it wouldn't be bothersome the rest of the show. I had 2 groups of dancers in 'squads' to involve more kids. I had one group of African Dancers who danced the "In Africa" Song. The 'fever trees' danced for Great-Grey-Green song. They did a lot of simple moves with arms and circles.
I used risers and a mostly blank stage. We made a "rock" of cardboard, a blue hibiscus from tissue paper, a few plants from paper, made an elephant and croc from butcher paper, stuffed and stapled them and hung them up and lined the proscenium of the stage with long pieces of butcher paper stamped with African print. Kids designed the program covers.-- Contributed by Katrina O'Reilly
03/03 ELEPHANT'S CHILD I taught all parts as written in the score. I also taught all the choreography. The kids really enjoyed this! One thing that works well for me is to teach 1 class the melody part and the other class the harmony part. We did use the CD. It is awesome...not too fast as in some recordings you find. There is some high stuff (high F). I was a little afraid of that, but after we were through, I realized that it helped my kids develop that upper vocal range.
For scenery, I made two trees out of PVC pipe covered with crinkled brown paper. I put the PVC on an old music stand without a top. The branches were wire hangers that I also covered with brown paper. They did not have any leaves. (THEY WERE FEVER TREES! Have YOU ever seen a fever tree? I haven't)
I drew each character (snake, crocodile, bird, and elephant) on a large piece of colored paper and had the kids paint them black and white. I had each character in the play make their own "masks." The masks were a rectangle of cardboard that they painted faces on. During the play, the characters held their masks, when they talked into the microphone, they dropped their masks down...their faces were painted,12/07 ENCORE We did it with 4/5 grade choir and added choreography/movements and a few parts. - Trudy Armas
03/03 FREEDOM BOUND My students LOVED "Freedom Bound" when we did it several years ago. You might also check out an "oldie but goodie" "OUR COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE" by Ruth Roberts. It's been around forever, but it's great for an overview of American History.
06/5 EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES My peasant people wore tights with long, old-looking shirts over them with belts, and the girls wore bonnets. The royal women wore pretty dresses they had from home, and we made those cone-shaped hats that are from Medieval times with the scarf material off of the ends. (Just make sure that they are far upstage from the Chorus, no poked-out eyes!) Our king wore tights and a purple colored tunic, to which we attached some gold sparkly material in various patterns to make it look more regal. We also had these hilarious red one-piece underwear (kind of like the king has on the front cover of the book) and our king wore that for the "no clothes on" scene. The various ministers also wore tights and tunics, but we found pictures and/or materials that highlighted what they were the ministers of. Our Minister of Pets had Beanie Babies all sewn onto her costume (her mother did that!!)-- Sabrina LaPointe
Think of black graduation gowns as a base for a costume. We had the Narrators wear these with a tunic, all different colors, over them. They wore Brunhilde -like headpieces. It was wild and wonderfully effective. The ministers wore these huge hats that a mom made. (I really need to look at my pictures again, because I can't remember what else they wore). I do remember that the Minister of Recreation carried a tennis raquet. This show was fun and I was just remembering how the Gossip Song was such a great takeoff of the G&S patter songs! -- Kathleen Bragle,NBCT '02
06/05 FROM THE INSIDE OUT One of our assistants wrapped different size boxes in colorful bulletin board paper and then decorated them ABC BLOCK style with a black marker. We built pyramids out of them in the front of the stage. Can't think of anything else right now. Good Luck!!! We also used the tshirt idea. Lavinia Reidsville, NC
We also had shirts for this show. I got white t-shirts cheap and we made iron-on transfers using the different character ed. words in the song - I think there were enough so that we only had 2 or 3 shirts of each word. We put "From the Inside Out" on the front and the character word on the back. Great advertising and looked great under black lights! I'm trying for the life of me to think of the great stuff we did with this show, but I can only remember the first song. Can you refresh my memory? It went over great! -- Pat Price
06/06 Music K8 http://www.musick8.com/ has a musical called "From the Inside Out" which focuses on character traits. 1. From the Inside Out - song about how character matters
2. I Promise - song about keeping your word
3. Responsible - song about how you and I are able to respond with decency, fairness, honesty and respect.
4. My Personal Code - song about our code of conduct
5. It Starts with Me - changing the world for the better starts with me! www.musick8.com -- RaeAnna Goss01/07 GO FISH Photos of costumes:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v293/pureofheart77/GoFish/?action=view¤t=1165380178.pbw02/05 GO FISH: I am doing "Go Fish" with grades 1-2. I haven't started it yet, but, the songs are cute and I like the story line. It's about different fish who are "different': an octupus with 7 legs, a tuna fish that can't sing, a nice shark, a star fish who thinks she is a movie star. There's more characters. I just can't remember them. Anyway by the end of the program they discover that it is ok to be different. It is easy rhyming speaking parts. Robin in NE
10/05 GO FISH: A Musical Play for Young Singers. A Tuna Fish that can't carry a tune? A Star Fish that can't get an acting job? A seven-legged Octopus? A Zebra Fish with spots? A Tiger Shark who wants to be friends with everyone? Join in the aquatic fun as little Tiger Shark and his unique collection of friends discover how their differences make them each special. This 25-minute musical for primary grades features 5 original songs, easy rhyming dialog, a castload of parts, choreography, and helpful production hints. Performance Time: Approx. 25 minutes. For Grades K-3. Available: Teacher Edition, Reproducible Pak (vocal lines, lyric sheets, dialog), Performance/Accompaniment CD, Preview CD, Classroom Kit (Teacher/Repro/PACD). (Text used with permission)
10/05 GO FISH: California Raisin movement: Roll hands to the right, lean right, roll hands to the left on beat 2, lean left -- Sabrina LaPointe
06/06 GRANNY AWARDS The JOY of this show is that Janet Gardner gives you permission to add or remove commercials,"removing one or two award winners with their songs......" We added a few and didn't delete any. I average about 92 - 98 kids in 5th Grade Chorus so this was great that we had that freedom!
Hickory Dickory Dock - some kids with parent help, made full size cardboard clocks with a hole in the center for their faces. HILARIOUS! They held them and walked with them. There were other kinds of clocks besides grandfather clocks so the overall effect was great!Random nursery rhymes - girls wore "little girl dresses" and they carried their words on cardboard signs that were different shapes. Their costumes reflected their character. We used "Mrs. ? Syrup" - sprayed all the bottles (they are not glass) gold. We used them for the awards.
Walky Talky Dancers - At the Dollar Store YEARS ago, I got red and green plaid taffeta skirts for $.50 each. The dancers wore those with black turtlenecks and straw hats with sashes from the same material as the skirts (formerly belts) tied around the hats. Cute!
We made up a rap and had the "London Bridge Construction Company" with yellow "hardhats" (used Rap Builder as a background)- orange work vests that we got from Niagara Mohawk!
All the "seven helpers" Sparky, Icky etc. wore white shorts and we were able to get different colored t shirts and some mom put their names on them with white stick on letters. They also wore Peter Pan like hats with a feather.We had kids who chose not to try out for a part. Since we were on the floor of the Gym for this, we had them make a grand entrance, complete with music, and then put them on risers to "view" the show. The risers were off to the right, at an angle so that their parents could see them, and yet they could see the show too. - Kathleen Bragle
F 01/03 GRANNY AWARDS
We did Granny Awards last year. Granny gives an awards ceremony to fairy tale land. We were able to let about 60-70 kids have their moment on stage in small group or solos. We found that we had to have some rehearsals with just the "helpers" (elves) to make transitions smooth. We added a construction worker group "muscling" to a commercial for "London Bridge" and partner teacher made a huge cardboard shoe on stage for Mother Goose's kids to come out for her writer's award. We had a SUPER "Prof" who was able to think on her feet and improvise. I'll never forget the sweet voices of our Snow White and Jack in the Beanstalk...the cool Red Riding Hood group...oh and the sneaky wolf who tried to break it up...etc...06/07 FAVORITES: My chorus had a hit with "Dig it!" on Friday at our 5th Annual Spaghetti Dinner Theater, and now I'm looking for next year's musical! We have done "School Daze", "Phantom of the Music Room", "Of Mice and Mozart", "The Granny Awards" and now "Dig it". -- Linda Barnhart
1890 Music Hall Revue - Ruth Roberts (if you have a very talented group), The American Dream - Jacobson, The Emperor's New Clothes - Gardner (I think), Bebop With Aesop - Gallina -- Kathleen Bragle
We Haz Jazz our kids still talk about this one and it was last year when we did it, The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Roger Emerson/John Jacobsen
FROM THE INSIDE OUT I did this with my 2nd graders - about 95 of them. They absolutely loved the songs! I did everything in unison. When we performed for the parents, we used no props; it was done concert style. The speakers came forward to the microphones. Our art teacher had designed large letters, done in shades of yellow, orange and red, that spelled the word "RESPECT". These were behind the students, along with helium filled balloons in the same colors. It made for a nice presentation.
03/03 HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? It is adorable and grade 2 is just right for this. Its by John Jacobson and Roger Emerson.
06/09 HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? – by John Higgins and John Jacobsen: Gee, I LOVED this whole play! The kids enjoyed the dialogue and so did the teachers. The story is about Herb the gardener who is having difficulties with weeds (who are hilarious rappers). The songs and choreography are darling. We had everybody dressed up in outfits mostly made of crepe paper. Crepe paper flower bonnets, skirts, and collars for the flowers, crepe paper weed collars , baseball caps turned backwards, sunglasses for the weeds. Crepe paper peapods, carrots, eggplant queen, etc. Had bales of hay from the local feed store, scarecrows and garden implements for scenery. Ears for animals, bluejeans & cowboy hats for the farmers who dance the hoedown, etc. At the website: “Let's take a journey to Herb's magical garden. The seeds have sprouted, the rain has come, and petals bloom brightly in the sun. But what's this!?! The weeds are taking over! Join the fun with a country-style garden hoedown, and help save the crop!” Dianne Park, San Diego, CA
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?We choreograph movements to the songs which helps the students learn them more quickly. They really love the rap of the Weeds. I would recommend it--words and music. The 2nd grade I have has about 85 kids. They are going to dress in jeans/overalls and plaid/flannel shirts. I have a small square dance group moving in the hoedown which end up chasing the weeds off the stage. Kids who are on stage come up with their own ideas for costumes (tho I make suggestions). The art teacher provides a great backdrop of a garden with flowers, veggies and a fruit tree, along with birds. There are cardboard cutouts that the flowers will wear depicting their type of flower. --- Brenda Kehl06/07 HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? I sent instructions for parents to make leaves to attach to their child's arms. The art teacher worked with classes to make flowers, vegetables, etc. from tag board with a hole cut in the middle for faces to show through. These were held on with narrow elastic that was stapled to the piece of produce. The bunny wore white sweatpants and shirt and ears. The groundhog wore the same except brown. The weeds wore baseball hats backwards with green construction paper spikes stapled to them and I cut up a cheap green plastic tablecloth from Party City and parents pinned the pieces all over their shirt and pants. The group of farmers were given instructions to "look like a farmer." Everyone looked wonderful...lots of straw hats and overalls and plaid shirts. The Crabby Cabbage was made from cheap (Wal-Mart $1 table) fabric and a pumpkin costume. We stuffed him with newspaper to fill out the shape and he wore a cabbage "mask" on his head. -- Donna J. Roye
01/02 I just finished doing FROM THE INSIDE OUT with 4th and 5th graders. It was a huge success. I figured out some choreography.... one 'dance' for each classroom involved. The rest of the kids were responsible for singing while the one class did the choreography. I added "We Might Heal" and "Don't Laugh At Me." 2nd graders could probably do it if you didnt' try to do the harmony.
04/02 FROM THE INSIDE AND OUT I did this show last year. Here is what I remember:
costumes...jeans or denim shorts, sneakers, and a bright colored, plain front tee-shirt.
set...I set it in a school yard. The art teacher was supposed to create a backdrop of a school, but he did an awful job. I wanted to portray the kids sort of hanging around the playground after school or in the summer. I also used band platforms that I covered in green craft paper (grass) to have the kids at different levels. I had a bike, a scooter, some balls, etc., to help create the setting.
movement...I don't have my notes, but I used choreography that someone posted to the list last year. Check the archives. I also had the kids choreograph a number.
narration...I had the kids come to the front of the stage for the narration between songs. The rest of the cast was supposed to freeze in a sort of tableau, sitting in groups on the stage. They didn't really do a great job with the "freeze" part.
This show was well-received by the audience and the kids.10/05 HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED CHRISTMAS I've done [this musical] several times and love it. Great songs that the children enjoy. Easy set - boxes on several levels covered with white sheets. Costumes - everyone wears black, make bibs with white paper and pin at the top; add red or green paper tie or Dad's Christmas tie. Santa - red sweats, sew on white fuzz, add black boots. I did add a line - one of the reindeer has nothing to say, so, "Here, Santa, I found your hat" (of course, Santa doesn't have his hat during the show). Also added the Christmas version of Dancin' On the Rooftop for the reindeer to dance to. -- Susan Simandle Music Specialist
01/02 I NEED A VACATION: I don't know if this was suggested by anyone yet but one of my favorites is I Need A Vacation by John Jacobsen. It is fun and upbeat. The music is very easy to learn and the kids eat it up!!
I NEED A VACATION: http://www.northwestmusic.ca/nw-educ.html#MUSICALS
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6/01 I NEED A VACATION is a sure fire hit! It is by John Jacobsen. Very catchy songs and the kids will love it. I would also recommend The Adventures of Lewis and Clark. I little more involved that the other but well worth the effort. The connections to social studies go without saying.
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02/03 I NEED A VACATION This is a great musical. The kids LOVED doing it. Costumes and scenery were as easy or difficult as you choose to make them. I basically left the costumes in the kids hands and they came through. The kindergarten teacher said she didn't even have to worry about discipline in the gym because her kids were so wrapped up in the performance. Very upbeat. For the song about riding in a car, I pulled out the overhead projector and made a life-sized, 2D, cardboard convertible VW Bug which some members of the cast drove around the gym. It is still hanging in my classroom. The kids want me to put Flat Stanley in it. We performed it the last week of school (what was I thinking?) and staff and students appreciated it alot! Go for it! I do have digital pictures if you want a better idea of what it looked like.09/03 I NEED A VACATION ***** (5 stars) (Fourth Grade: funny. students can really play up the parts)
A Small Part of the World *** (more serious. very educational)
How the West Was Really One, Give Thanks America, We Haz Jazz, and Tall Tales and Heroes.
We do a Fourth Grade Musical every spring as a sort of a graduation project since it is the last year in our building. We have had a great time doing School Daze, I Need a Vacation, To Bee or Not to Bee and this past year, The Adventures of Lewis and Clark. Any of these work well with 4th grade.
IT’S A NEW DAY by Teresa Jennings is a terrific play and the kids will love the peppy music."IT'S SATURDAY" is very similar to "I Need A Vacation".....J Jacobbson. It was lots of fun, also.
09/03 LEMONADE is a new musical out this year. It would work wonderfully with your 2nd graders. If you know anything about John Jacobson's musicals, you know that he always produces quality programs that audiences love. It lasts about 20 minutes, rhyming script, wonderful music with movement ideas (there is a video you can purchase to show the motions) and great costume suggestions. Too, it focuses on learning nursery rhymes, something that children today are not that familiar with. Let your PTA serve lemonade after the program.....it will be a hit!
LEGEND OF POLAR MOUNTAIN by Roger Emerson & John Jacobsen -- Roxanne Trump-Miles
LEWIS & CLARK by John Jacobsen -- I would like to recommend "The Adventures of Lewis and Clark" by Roger Emerson and John Jacobson. I am doing it now with my fifth graders and they love it. It is funny, the songs are appealing to elementary kids and the staging is very easy. It also ties in well with the social studies curriculum."
01/04 LEWIS & CLARK -- If you do this for fourth grade, you may have to water it down a little, because it's really written for upper level elementary, middle school. I modified John Jacobson's choreography somewhat. On This Is Our Home, I wrote out the melody for recorder (to simulate a Native American flute). I used Tee Pees as a prop, as well as had my husband make a woodsy backdrop to hang. On the first song, instead of having all the kids say "Clark and Lewis!", I let Clark say that. That was his little thing to try to "upstage" everyone else. Charbonneau should be given to someone who can really ham up a French accent, because that's always a hit, as is a good Scannon. On Scannon's song I had a few girls do a hat and cane routine with it instead of using Jacobson's choreography, and that turned out really cute. - Contributed by Karen Stafford
03/03 LEWIS & CLARK - The place to start is the address below, then follow the "preparations" until just before #7. There is a link called "singing and dancing" which will take you to some interesting material and further links. I tried to copy a link to the exact page but kept getting the starting point.
http://www.lewis-clark.org/singing.htm10/05 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE I have done this program twice. It is very cute. For the Christmas trees, I cut out a triangular shape from heavy cardboard (washer/dryer boxes, fridge boxes) in different heights. When I cut out the triangle shape, I cut out a hole for the head. Then I put handles on the back for them to hold. Then with the help of the classroom teachers, they have the kids cut out their handshapes on green paper. I think they have to cut out more than just 2 each. Like maybe 4-5 pairs each. I take the hands and starting at the bottom of the triangle shaped cardboard I glue on the hands, curling the fingers slightly. This is easy to do and looks nice from off stage. Without the help of the classroom teachers, this job would be overwhelming. Also, the hands don't have to be perfect. From off stage you can't tell. For the elves, I had the school buy red and green sweatsuits in varying sizes. This works great. For the red sweatsuits I took green felt and cut out a pointed collar and hung bells off the corners. I did the same thing for the green sweatsuits, except I used red felt. I bought those little stretch white gloves and they wore them. I think you can get them at Dollar General for $1.00. The school also bought me elf hats. I numbered the hats, then gave each elf a number and they only wore that hat. No transferring of little bugs! I also labeled the elves sweatsuits with numbers. I wrote down who had what number. This really helps in keeping track of who hasn't brought back their costume. Robin in NE
10/05 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE I also did this musical last Christmas with my 1st & 2nd graders. I made the trees out of thick cardboard and cut out a circle for their head to stick through. The trees were tied around their neck and waist. I put velcro on them so that during "Time to Decorate the tree", they could be decorated. For "The Littlest Tree" I also added a lighted star (battery operated) that I found at the dollar store. When the last song came along to deocorate her, the elves reached around and flipped the switch & turned it on. It made an impact on stage. I double casted the parts so that one group could perform during the daytime assembly and the other at night. This way more kids got "solo" parts...and if someone was missing, the part would still be there. Stephanie Mendenhall
10/05 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE I did it with an entire first grade of about 125 students. I made Christmas Tree costumes for the speaking parts but the other children wore Christmas Tree hats they made in art class. Everyone made hats in their art class, and they were precious. The children kept the hats but I kept the tree costumes. I still have them from ten years ago! We dress up in them at Christmas for "O Christmas Tree" in my classroom. The tree costumes were made out of posterboard. I added paper ornaments (colored circles) and lots of glitter. They simply hung around their neck on a string. Poster board reaches to the knees or below for a first grader. They wore gold and silver garland in their hair. The child playing the Littlest Christmas Tree had a plain tree with bits of velcro so the children could decorate her during that last song. You can color the velcro with a green marker and it blends in. The elves decorated her with pretty ornaments that I had hot glued a bit of velcro. It worked really well. It's a charming and sweet play that I will probably will use again! -- Monica Autry
Orff 10/05 If anyone would like, if they go to the download section of the Music Education Madness Site (www.musiceducationmadness.com) and go to Handouts section, I have made my handouts from my presentations at the 2005 Missouri Music Educators Convention available. They were totally about activities for Grades 4-6, Orff and non-Orff. These are the detailed handouts that include notation and outlined steps for each activity. -- Karen Stafford "The Music Education Madness Site" http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/
10/02 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE
I've done this musical several times over the years and have used more elaborate costuming for it, but my most reasonable costuming was to make kind of sandwich boards for the trees. You can do this with sections of green poster board, but the best ones I've used were made of green bulletin board paper. Once I laminated them because we did many performances around town and I didn't want them to tear apart. To make the trees wide enough, you have to fold them to put them through the laminator, so you end up with a serious crease down the center. This actually works to your benefit because it gives the tree more dimension. I also made little ties at the waist which didn't show because they were inside the costume. We made lots of flat laminated ornaments which the elves attached to the trees with double stick tape during "Time to Decorate the Tree". The star can sit on top of the headpieces described below.For headpieces, I 've gone two different routes. First, I made little tree-shaped "masks" with a hole cut out for the face. This one had a simple band around the back of the head. The one I like best was a kind of dunce cap- a cone made of green poster board with green crepe paper streamers coming out of the top. We put elastic bands under the chin. Actually, we made enough for all 150 choir members to wear (the headpiece only). We put a little fence with greenery attached in front of the choir to give the tree lot effect.
For the elves, I made eight costumes many, many years ago and have used them over and over again. I used green felt to create an overlay....hole in the center of a long rectangle for the head, zig zag cut at the hemline. I bought some stretchy red fabric (cheap) and cut it into long sashes (no sewing!) I tied the sashes in bows for the girls and knots for the boys. When tying the sashes, I overlap the green overlays at the side. I bought green alpine hats with red feathers and voila! Elfin creatures. These look great over the black slacks and white shirts my choir wears
12/07 MADE IN THE USA We did it with 4/5 grade choir and added choreography/movements and a few parts. - Trudy Armas 02/05 MARTIAN CHRISTMAS -- I'm doing it with grades 1-2-3 in one week and the kids are loving it. My PTO moms made me a one-dimensional spaceship out of foam board (complete with battery operated blinking lights) and a door that will open for my Martians to walk down a ramp from the ship. It's really cool. I have to get two strong HS kids to lower it from the ceiling on cue (the moms rigged up a pulley of sorts with rope). The kids can't wait to see it tomorrow for the first time. I'm planning on dimming the stage lights and adding fog when the spaceship lands. PTO is also dying T-shirts and sweatpants and socks green for my Martians and I bought bee-bop headbands from Oriental Trading. - Karen in NB
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One word of caution - I was planning on using fog during my "Is There Life On Mars" song in my show last month. Bought the fog machine and juice and was all ready to go......until I was informed BY READING THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE (*yelling at mySELF*) that the machine would very likely set off the fire alarms and sprinkler system in my cafeteria!!!! You might want to check this out for yourself..... We figured if we were in the gym with some small fans to disperse the fog we might get away with it, but no way in the cafe!! Be SURE and read the small print!-- Pat Price03/03 I loved "1890 MUSIC HALL REVUE" by Ruth Roberts! Wonderful
12/09 NORTH POLE EXPOSURE was written by Mac Huff, John Jacobson It did have several speaking parts. Santa and Mrs. Claus had a lot of lines and each had a solo. The reason I liked it was because there were so MANY parts and I even added more snow men, reindeer, and tops because I did it with a about 75 students and most of them wanted parts. If you had a couple of faculty members who would do the Claus', you might be able to do it. --- Donesa Mann
10/05 “OPERATUNISTS” I just finished performing [this musical] with my 5th graders. The musical is written by Michael and Jill Gallina and features songs from La Boheme, Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Lohengrin, Faust and Carmen - with words to fit the plot of the musical. It's a great story about a group of students who are studying opera and as a closing activity go on a field trip to the opera house and then to see an opera that evening.
While they are at the opera house, they are told to finish their "opera summary sheets" in the backstage area (the prop and wardrobe room). While they are in that room, all of the people that help to produce the opera (stagehands, costume and makeup people, set and lighting crew, three divas, three tenors, conductor, chorus master, etc. etc) By the end of theday - they have a whole new perspective on opera (yea !!).
I was inspired to do this by the article "Carol's Corner" (Carol Cantrell) in the Vol. 14, No. 5 issue of Music K-8, called "It's Bigger Than You !"
To prepare the kids for the musical I used materials from Tod Kline's "Classic Tunes & Tales" and "Music Today & Every Day" published by Parker Publishing. He has a synopsis of many major operas along with a famous melody from each one with easy to sing words that help the kids remember facts about the composer, opera, etc.
I also purchased the book "Bravo! Brava!" by Anne Siberell (pub. Oxford University Press) ISBN # 0-19-513966-6.
It was a great resource. I ordered it from Schoolhouse Productions.And finally, I showed segments from the DVD "Operavox" that I also purchased from Schoolhouse Productions. It has 30 minute animated performances of The Magic Flute, Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Das Rheingold, Turandot, and Rigoletto.
My kids had an awesome experience preparing and performing the musical, as learning a lot about an art form many of them were ignorant about and thus thought they "hated".--Leslie Ritter01/02 OLIVER TWIST: My fourth and fifth graders did Oliver Twist last spring. It was a great success. First of all, the music is interesting; there are songs in triple meter and there are songs in minor. This opened up lots of interesting teaching possibilities. The story encouraged kids to check out the book Oliver Twist in the library. I can't tell you how many kids were inspired to read Dickens because of what we were doing in music class. Not only Oliver Twist, but other Dickens' classics. Also, it is not too long, not too wordy. I had done the Bricusse "Scrooge" a few years back, and this edition of Oliver Twist was much more accessible for this age student. There aren't too many songs, either. It is just right! I can only encourage you to perform this. (One word of caution: there are 14 scene changes...)
01/02 OLIVER TWIST consists of 8 songs and one reprise. The scenes are: Orphanage, Funeral Home, London Streets, Fagin's Hideout, London streets, Mr. Brownlow's bedroom, Fagin's Hideout, Mr. Brownlow's study, Fagin's hideout, Mr. Brownlow's study, Fagin's Hideout, Outside Mr. Brownlow's house, Fagin's hideout, London Streets. Yes, 14 scenes, some of which are used several times. Depending on how much room you have and how much of a set, it involves a bit of moving around...
I found it do-able, but it wasn't what I'd call easy. Surely, there are shortcuts you could take! For instance, for the London streets, I had an empty stage and a big backdrop of London (that was easy), but for the Brownlow and Fagin scenes, you really need some furniture. With some eager and helpful parents backstage, it works great.
The kids just loved it - it is WELL WORTH IT!
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01/07 ON THE RADIO by John Jacobson and John Higgins. I highly, recommend [this musical]. I ordered it sight unseen because the principal wrote in my evaluation last year that I should do music that is "on the radio" and the school would be quite willing to buy more "with it" music. (by the way the music I used last year was just fine--mostly K8 stuff--he thought that would be an answer to the many problems we have here--if it only were that easy..!) Anyway, the short little script connects music from the 30's-80's. The kids LOVE the music probably because they were all top pop hits when they were written. We only have twelve 7th and 8th graders so I carefully convinced them to "help" with the 120 5th and 6th graders. It is great fun to hear and see the older kids singing and dancing (and smiling) on their way out of the room after the bell rings. “Footloose” is the favorite [song] followed by “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” I only see the 5th and 6th graders once a week so I started them right away in the fall. To end the concert my 7th and 8th graders will play guitars on three Christmas songs--we we all sing along. -- Jan Ringstmeyer01/02 We did OLIVER TWIST as our 5th Grade Opera last spring. I liked it. The only problem with all these musicals is that they have disproportionate numbers of "good" boys parts. There were girls parts for Nancy, a couple of servant ladies (they had names, I just can't remember) , The lady at the work house. The girls did not complain. Some were in a special dance group, most were workhouse orphans who later turned into Fagin's gang.
01/02 John Jacobsen's ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF BROADWAY: It is excellent and lends itself well to staging. It is a medley, and moves quickly through the hundred years of the American Musical. I did it with 4th and 5th, but a watered down version. It comes in parts also (we did mostly unison). It has gobs of solos and mixes slow and fast, etc. It is about 45 minutes long. The parents loved it, as it contained something that everyone knew. Also, I really feel that I gave those fourth and fifth graders quite a musical background. There were over 50 songs included, from the beginning to the most recent hits. Great piece. I was aching to try it with more advanced singers!
02/02 Did STONE SOUP with a third grade a few years ago. Very adorable. Easy music, staging. Go for it.10/08 PAINT THE TOWN by Roger Emerson & John Jacobsen
: The kids sang like champs and remembered all their parts and choreography. Paint the Town December was a big hit. We did it 3 times-- twice for the student body and once at night for the parents- to a packedhouse. The kids looked cute in the shirts and painter hats I had painted in my best "Jackson Pollack" style. I got free painter hats from local businesses (Frazee & Dunn-Edwards) and bought inexpensive white t-shirts at Walmart in packs of 3-6. I asked the students for $1 each to help defray the cost. I laid the shirts out on the garage floor and threw paint at them. They looked just great. I gave the shirts and hats to the kids after the last performance.I borrowed the window scenery-which had been painted by parents at another elem school about 5 years ago. They gave me their big cardboard" windows"and I doctored them up with more glitter and tinsel swag. The kids sang with heart and good diction. You could understand every word. I am impressed with my second language learners because I expanded the show to include songs from MK8 that introduced them to swing (In the Spirit), jazz waltz (For the Winter) , cha cha (Esta es la Navidad), canon ( A Candle for Peace), and hip hop (Hip Hop Reindeer). In addition they did a song with sign language (Hearts Around the World) and "paint brush" choreography (Paint the Town December). We put streamers on paint brushes and it was very effective. -- Dianne Park, San Diego, CA01/03 THE PHANTOM OF THE MUSIC ROOM
I have done this before. We had a GREAT time learning about all the songs which are based upon classical themes. The story is fun and the set is easy . . . a music room! I added extra characters like a coach named Coach Fumble who ate jelly donuts and a mousey librarian name Miss Bookworm. It is one I'd do again!
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THE PHANTOM OF THE MUSIC ROOM I will repeat this musical.MUSICAL: PIRATES! By Roger Emerson, John Jacobson. (Teacher/10 Sgr/PerfAcc CD). Expressive Art (Choral). Children's Musical. Published by Hal Leonard. (9971155)
We're off to sail the rollicking sea, pirates all are we! But ARRRR, and shiver me timbers! There's a stowaway on board! Perhaps the King of the High Cs will know what to do. Join this salty crew of colorful scallywags when Bluebeard, Yellowbeard, Whitebeard, Purplebeard Just a note to tell you all what a great time we are having preparing this Jacobson/Emerson show. The kids are the most excited! The music is wonderful! What a great show! I will be sure and share pictures when we are finished. BTW we are planning on building the front of a pirate ship across the entire front of the stage using 4x8 pieces of styrofoam!
PERFORMANCE PICTURES AND MIDIS: http://www.schalmont.org/Jefferson/jeffnews/0809/piratemusical.htm Some pictures and a small video clip from our Musical "Pirates" which was in mid February. This was my 27th Musical!! Scroll down to the section about "Pirates" and you can click to see the video and you can also click to see a few pictures. --- Kathleen BraglePIRATES OF PENZANCE - Shawnee Press Deleware Gap, Penn. 18327 Score is #U66 and was 12.95. Can be two part in many places, and requires soprano ability for high singers. I've done it with 5th grade and it gets the boys involved every time!
POPPY SEED CAKE by Virginia Kolk Pedulla is great
A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS The only "musical" that I have used that includes grades from k-6 is the one entitled, A Pocketful of Dreams, published by: Hal Leonard Publishing Corp. by:Ruth Artman and Sally Russell Orchestration by:Bob Lowden 1985; an all-school revue. Songs included are as follows:
A Pocketful of Dreams
Do-Re-Mi
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
Mairzy Doats
This Train
At the Hop
Freedom
And then the Pocketful of Dreams Finale
The cast is Alexander the keeper of the Pocket and Lots of Random voice parts for many.06/09 POSSIBILITIES by Teresa Jennings – “The one thing all students have in common, no matter who they are or where they come from, is possibilities. Inspire optimism in your students with the revue that celebrates life. Teresa Jennings has created this uplifting all-school musical revue to help children look forward to a positive future where anything is possible. And one of the best things about this fun and upbeat revue is the fact that it can be adapted to fit your music program - whether you are working with just a few grades or multiple sections in grades K-8.”
I have done Possibilities and Discovery by Teresa Jennings (Plank Road Publishing) with 5th. Both were great! --- RaeAnna Goss
07/11 PRINCIPAL AND THE PEA: I did this with 5th grade last year, and they seemed to love it. I had the 3 fifth-grade teachers be the applicants, with the outgoing male one being the new principal. Our kids have music once a week, and this was a hit-or-miss group so it worked out. Younger grades would be fine, I'm sure. If you can get the classroom teachers to drive home the original 'Princess and the Pea,' it will be more meaningful for the kids. For staging, I had 2 separate sets of risers on stage. During 'clockwork,' we did a repeating pattern on the UPP and a matching 'human machine' that moved piece by piece. (They mostly developed that in class, trial and error.) Food fight, I had a select few kids hold up umbrellas at the right time, and only TWO kids on each side, lobbing fake food to the other side as they shielded with lunch trays. Big warnings that they'd lose that job if it got out of hand, and it never did. For the applicant part, I tried to feature more kids, so we set up a little table with 2 interviewers. Then there were 2 'security guards' standing behind them (with sunglasses, looking like secret service, arms crossed) Then hostesses that brought each candidate in, "welcome Mrs Smith, thanks for coming to our principal interviews!" When the last candidate hates peas, 2 diff't kids came down to shake his hand and put the set of keys over his head. I don't remember anything else off hand, but let me know if you need more ideas. --- Stacie Devaney
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03/03 "RETURN OF THE GLASS SLIPPER" We have only a collapsible stage in our cafeteria so we have no curtains either. While we wait on Santa to fund a bona fide curtain (ha ha ha) we have devised a portable one to use for our dramas. We bought many yards of black material (rather thick knit, so it's opaque) and 2 8 foot long pvc pipes. We sewed the black material together (2 lengths at 48 inches wide each) and attached it at the ends to the pvc pipes (sewed a casing to go over the pipe, then hot glued the ends to hold it up). During scene changes, 2 stage-hands bring the "curtain" out on stage and hold it up to hide the changes going on behind it. They then (with help from a 3rd person) fold it in half, and half again and take it down for the new scene. It's worked ok so far.12/09 REVOLT OF THE FOOLISH MOLAR by Copp Barlow Toothbrush: I had a mom who used a scrub brush that she hot-glued to a piece of wood, then painted the wood the same color as the handle of the scrub brush; or maybe the scrub brush handle was wood and she painted the whole thing blue. Photos: http://teacherweb.com/VA/MatthewWhaleySchool/Music/--- Julie Jones in Williamsburg, VA
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I love this little musical! My second graders did it. Shredded black garbage bag costumes for the lactobasilliasodophili. Sandwich board fruits and veggies, as well as all the teeth. Candy army marching in from back of auditorium. Bacteria running through audience. Fun, fun, fun!The record is sorta outdated sounding. I was thinking of having my piano buddy do me a new track on CD.My kids loved these tunes as well! Do it in February during Dental Health week and your teachers and principals will love you. It IS Shawnee Press and you can order it online at http://www.lighthousemarket.net/ymcco
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I did this about 20 years ago and it is darling.
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It was published by Shawnee Press in 1976. At that time the piano-vocal score (U-10) was $3.00. They had an LP (My copy is somewhere.) with the complete performance on Side A and the instrumental accompaniments on Side B along with a cassette recording with complete performance followed by instrumental accompaniments. I also got the duplicator masters for songs for $2.00.DD
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I love this little musical! My second graders did it. Shredded black garbage bag costumes for the lactobasilliasodophili. Sandwich board fruits and veggies, as well as all the teeth. Candy army marching in from back of auditorium. Bacteria running through audience. Fun, fun, fun!The record is sorta outdated sounding. I was thinking of having my piano buddy do me a new track on CD.My kids loved these tunes as well! Do it in February during Dental Health week and your teachers and principals will love you.06/09 ROCK! The History of Rock n Roll by John Jacobson. VERY fun! I did it with 5th/6th gr choir one year and have also done it with gr 4/5 choir. Everyone got such a kick out of it. I think middle schoolers would enjoy it, too.----- Dianne Park, San Diego, CA
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6/01 If you like to do choreography with your musical, John Jacobson has a couple of fun, fun Christmas revues that have lots of solos in them. SANTA'S FROST FOLLIES and FOREVER CHRISTMAS are two I've used. The nice thing about these revues are that you can pick and choose from the different sections and do what you want or what your children can handle. Like last year from Forever Christmas, I left out the sacred carol section, simply because we didn't have enough time to learn all the stuff. Forever Christmas has lots of parts you can feature like solos, small groups, and duets, etc. There is an Elvis impersonator for Frosty the Snowman, a cowboy rendition for Rudolph the Red nosed R. and Suzy Snowflake sings Jingle bells like Tina Turner. Even the 3 chipmunks sing their Christmas song. My students in 4th and 5th chorus had a wonderful time doing this one, and we only meet once a week for an hour to rehearse.1890 Music Hall Revue(WONDERFUL for a talented group) The Castaways
It's Music (WONDERFUL for a talented group!)
The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf
A Knight to Remember
Happy New Year World ! 01/03 SCHOOL DAZE
I did School Daze a few years ago with 4th grade and the kids loved it! I haven't done the others, but the school theme is a definite hit. Some of the songs relate more to middle school type format, but since my kids are real wannabes, they loved it even more!
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I did School Daze a few years ago with 4th grade and the kids loved it! I haven't done the others, but the school theme is a definite hit. Some of the songs relate more to middle school type format, but since my kids are real wannabes, they loved it even more!
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i have done school daze twice and get in the game with 4th grade with much successI did the SECRET GARDEN about 5 years ago - it is my all-time favorite show in the world!!!!!! Mary must be quite strong - and make sure that her screaming tantrums are done vocally correctly! The two male leads are vital - "Lily's Eyes" is probably the most moving number in the show, and had me in tears each and every time it was performed - it's exquisite! The duet with Colin and Mary is quite pretty, too. This is a great show - tons of work, but will mesmerize your audience if done well.
I did How Does Your Garden Grow as a second grade musical. It is one of the mmost successful and delightful shows I have done with that age group.
Kathleen, I have been in "Secret Garden" and it is a beautiful show to listen to and watch. I don't know what age your summer program is, but I can't imagine it being done with no adults. I think the 2 male leads Neville and Archie are very demanding vocally and dramatically, as is the female lead, Lily. There really aren't that many roles for females in it -- certainly the maid who sings "Hold On" (I think) is a good one, and of course Mary. The rights are held by Samuel French. www.samuelfrench.com. I have a friend who is in "Jane Eyre" on Broadway and she has done a show that she really likes called "Honk!"--based on the Ugly Duckling story and it was recently acquired by MTI -- they're really pushing it on their website. www.mtishows.com.
06/02 SOUNDS A LITTLE FISHY TO ME We did this with 2nd grades also. The finale was to "Under the Sea." Spme of the children had seaweed - 3' green and blue streamers on paper handles that they moved (alternating hands up and down - monkey style) and others had stuffed paper fish that they used to swim around the seaweed and a third group had red paper crab claws on their hands and they did one hand on their stomach the other in the air and alternated - sort of a Latin type movement
Rounds In 2nd grade we sing Kookaburra and Make New Friends as well as continuing the 3 they've learned in 1st grade. We begin partner songs at the end of 2nd grade with When the Saints/She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain and This Old Man/Michael Finnegan.
02/02 STONE SOUP musical. We had a great time. The school greenhouse grew vegetables and we made soup for the entire school so it was cross curriculum.
08/14 SNOW BIZ!: Contents, scans, and sound clips:
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=1836
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01/02 STORY SONGS For fairy tales, fables: the best bet is "Story Songs" by Carmino Ravosa and published by Shawnee Press. Carmino Ravosa is the composer of "Best Friends" and "Little by Little" among other great songs. My kids LOVE "Fee Fi Fo Fum" and "The Troll's Song". There are 27 songs listed in this collection from The Pied Piper, Chicken Little, Snow White, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood - among others. It is worth every penny!12/09 TALL TALES AND HEROES by Grace Hawthorne & John Wilson Hope Publishing,
Songs: Patriotic Maid, Be Sure You’re Right/Halley’s Comet, AS American As Apple Pie, Clamity Jane, Beat the Machine, Lumberjacks Love Flapjacks, A Lot of Tall Tales, Anyone Can Be A HeroWe did minor choreography to most of the songs. The boys I picked to be on stage for the lumberjacks ate up acting out the part of being tough and then being "smultzy"(?) the second 1/2 of the song. I divided my classes up for John Henry and had each group do a part. It was fun. --- Brenda Kehl
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I've used this one three times in 12 years. It can't be beat for simple set. We did simple red, white and blue splatter backdrops (Ok- refrigerator boxes unfolded) on either side for quick prop/ costume location. Elaborate costumes stayed on the actors for the whole show- it got curiosity going in the crowd when all came out. Simple costumes and props were picked up the scene before from "backstage". Everyone on risers. We sat large groups down when possible, otherwise no waiting for the next bunch to come in. The pace is great.. tons of parts.. Never fails to bring down the house when the boys do "Flapjacks!". I made that the boys' number and added simple riser choreography. I've down the piano part and have used the recording. I love the instruments of the sound trac, but the opener takes tons of work to time the jokes with the pre-recorded stuff. I did substitue the MK-8 Johnny Appleseed song for the one in the play last time. The kids already knew it and loved it.02/05 02/05 For TEMPLES AND TOMBS see Multicultural Music
06/05 THIS IS AMERICA We are a 4/5gr choir of 75 and working on this musical. -
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?cart=332911624316208&productgroup=1095&category=Musicals%20and%20Revues&searchfield=[searchfield]&subcatsearch=[subcatsearch]&uks=TA-116
The kids love it! Tina Goodearl10/02 THIS OLD GINGERBREAD HOUSE: I did this program four years ago with kindergarten and first graders. It was lots of fun and is typical of the Jennings musicals, had a nice variety of types and tempi of music, easy to put together. I had a "house" made out of cardboard kind of center stage. It was not too big, but kids could go inside it (that age kid, anyways). The roof had all sorts of oversized cardboard candy with velcro on the back to be able to remove it. I dressed the kids in a variety of forest animal costumes (mice, fox). Turned out cute.
O5/03THIS OLD GINGERBREAD HOUSE POST-PROGRAM NOTES 130 students. Great show! Dress rehearsal running time: 24 minutes, exactly. Show time: not sure.
TECH NOTES Three standing mics on front edge of stage. Two handheld mics, one each for each group of narrators. (3 one side, two the other) Body mics for Hansel and Gretel. Professional Video Company: Dream Maker Productions, Midwest City, OK.
Four additional sections of risers borrowed from St. Charles school for ten sections.
Never more than 12 students on stage at one time. Neighbors perform on the stage. TV Crew, fairies/elves and Bees performed on gym floor. Chorus on risers either side. Center staircase from gym to stage. Narrators behind low foam bushes either side of staircase. Two trees flanking house on stage. Trees behind risers on gym floor and at end of risers and surrounding piano.During Ouverture (on piano) Led in by their teachers, the Chorus quietly took its place on the risers; fairies/elves positioned on center of gym floor with dancers sitting in a circle in center, and the others in a large square “U” around them; narrators in place. Neighbors offstage either wings, and Hansel and Gretel hidden inside the house. (Neighbors cast for each scene quickly exchange during transition of end of songs. Pretty quiet and painless, actually. They knew just where and when to go. Returned via back stairwells and around to the risers after their scene. If in a later scene, exited risers and went up back stage stairwells to the wings. Seamlessly and smoothly.)
During Bow Music (on piano) starting with Scene One cast, lined up holding hands and a group bow in center of gym floor, then ran up to pose in front of house on stage; repeat with each scene’s cast posing in front of the previous one. Groups extended down the center staircase leaving space for Hansel and Gretel to come to; last four groups were TV crew, Bear and Rabbit, then narrators, then Hansel and Gretel. Great full cast pose. Awesome.SET
Foam board trees, cardboard house with Velcro candies, cardboard box TV cameras, ovens, large donated megaphone and cell phone.COSTUMES
Narrators: Bookworms and Butterfly. Colorful shorts and shirts. Felt slip on wings for butterflies (girls), antennae headband for both, lens-less glasses for bookworms(boys).
Bees: Black felt “oval” shape with yellow felt stripes. Felt extended to “tie” around the neck and striped oval hung in front.
Hansel: Knickers, knee socks, shirt, suspenders, sportcoat, fisherman’s cap;
Barefeet. Ivy wreaths in hair.
Elves: Green felt tunic: rectangle with center slit to slip over head, thin rope around waist, ivy wreath in hair.
Barefeet.Neighbors:
Girls: White school uniform or other blouse; dark skirt; colorful half aprons, red felt “H” with short strip of glittery braiding across center bar of the “H” for “suspender-type” straps.Safety pinned on over blouse. Flower wreath in hair. Braids, etc. Knee socks.
Boys: Dark School uniform shorts or khaki shorts, white shirt NOT a t-shirt-with forest green “H” for liederhosen suspenders. Knee high tube socks.
Forest Animals (Chorus): School uniform or dark bottoms and white tops. Headpieces representing animals (ex: Bear: brown headband with ears hot glued on and a fur tunic. Face paint. Rabbit: The same but for a rabbit). Bear and Rabbit stayed on the stage the entire show, nibbling at the house.
Other animals (on the risers throughout the show): soft pliable thin craft foam cut into layered animals faces, fitted around head and stapled or taped to fit.
Director: a Raccoon with red cape and giant megaphone.
Bob White: A Quail: (I changed him from Bob Thomas) White tunic and snood with “comb” attached to top.
Gnorm: Plaid shirt, suspenders, khaki shorts, (He didn’t end up with the Chef hat.)
Bakers: Dark shirts, white tops, full aprons, and not sure what happened to their bakers hats they were supposed to get).
Camera crew: khaki shorts and white top and ball caps.
Gophers: same headpiece construction, khaki bottoms and white tops.
Construction Carpenters: jeans or school shorts/pants; plaid shirts, suspenders if they had them.
CHOROEGRAPHYTAKE ONE STEP
(Hansel and Gretel softshoe, then other couples-these are neighbors already on stage- join in.)
During intro, Gretel is despondent, sits on top of center staircase, Hansel mimes cheering her up, takes her hand, stands her up.
Take one step….be all rightGretel solos, imitating Hansel exactly.
Take one step…be all right
Holding hands, Grapevine to left, grapevine to right, repeat.
Freddie left, R,L, R
Eight count turn to left, arms straight down, palms flexed.
Sun is bright
(All dancers join in and all ) Step R, touch L, Step R, Ball Change (1 & 2, 3-4) arms bent at waist, jazz hands, small circle sweep to right, hold;
The sky is blue
Repeat to left To help us on our way
Step ball change forward right, left, right, left, arms to match.
But even if….
Chaussez back right, stepL,step R, Chaussey back left, Step R, step L. repeat . Arms extended on chausses (r arm back high, l arm forward, dipped, reverse. Arms are brought in to center, sternum height on step,step)
We will be Cross forward r across left leg, touch left toe out to left side, arms bent at waist, snap downward at the same time as toe touch, repeat with l
Spread eagle jump on first “OK” and big Nod to partner on second “okay”Instrumental portion: (Choreography notes as listed in MK8) Boys step left, 1,2; Girls repeat.
Boys step right, 1,2. Girls repeat. Repeat all.Boys step back left. Girls repeat.
All do eight count pivot to the left.
All step forward l, r, l, kick right across left, low.
Repeat other direction.
Step l, kick r, step r, kick l, step l, kick r, step r, kick l
Step backward l, r, l, kick right across left, low.
Step l, kick r, step r, kick l, step l, kick r, step r, kick lTake One Step verse again, all together. Same grapevine moves as before with ALL dancers, BUT on the second set, Gretel and the girls spin in to the front of the guys, and with both boy and girl facing forward, they Freddie l, r, and girls spin out by “be okay.”
Repeat above moves according to song repeats.Hansel and Gretel begin walking and waving goodbye while singing the ending portions, down the stairs, across gym floor, and off of the set.
SORRY
(12 vocalists instead of three: each had one line. Chorus sings echo line and on the refrains. )Arranged in groups of three, according to solo order. Vs. 1 & 2
Each soloist gestured appropriately according to his/her lyrics;
On Refrain One
All do “opera hands” and lean Stage Left, rising up on left toe. Up on SOR-, down on RY. Repeat opposite direction for next “SOR-RY” then continue action alternating with the next three SOR-RYs.
Vs. 3 & 4
Each soloist gestured appropriately according to his/her lyrics;
On Refrain Two
Each turns to person next to him/her, flails arms in downward V on SORRYs,
Turning to person on the other side each SORRY, same arms each time.
On Final Refrain
Exaggerated Apologetic gestures to each other with each SORRY.03/02 THREE PIGGY OPERA by Carol Kaplan
Three Piggy Opera (Accompaniment) I solved the problem by using my pre-programmed rhythms on my Yamaha keyboard and jazzed them up.You just "one-finger" the chords at the right times and voila! They turned out pretty nice actually. I used a funky hip-hop rhythm for the wolf's song. The kids just *loved* it! If you have one it's a great solution. I plugged it into the tape deck and recorded them right from the keyboard.
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I performed 3 Piggy Opera with my 2nd graders last year -- we really talked about Opera when we did it -- and I choose soloists as we went. The solo parts are REALLY easy and repetitive but with Kinder, I'd get them started right away. We even made really simple piggy masks for the entire choir with paper plates. My art teacher is the absolute TOPS here! I don't know what I'd do without her.
\ ---
] Three Piggy Opera
You can get it from J.W. Pepper 1-800-345-6296 or visit their web pg.
Popplers Music (1-800-437-1755) or
Clarus Music, LTD. (2002, pg. 51), 150 Clearbrook Rd., Elmsford, NY 1052,
ph: (914) 347-8475, fax: (914) 347-860302/05 THREE WISE MEN AND A BABY - My absolute favorite Christmas musical Lots of humor and great music. -- Monica in WI
01/02 I've done both TREASURE ISLAND and OLIVER TWIST, as well as TOM SAWYER. I just did Oliver Twist this year and it probably was the best thing I've ever done because I had some extremely talented boys. I liked Tom Sawyer, but thought the songs were a little childish as compared with the difficulty of the dialog (I used all of these with 5th and 6th graders). So, by saying this I'm saying if you liked Tom Sawyer you'll probably like Oliver Twist and Treasure Island.
With all three of these musicals I taught all the students in the school about what they would be seeing by discussing the plot, author, characters, etc. and in the case of Oliver Twist and Treasure Island, showing the videos of other versions. This made them so much more prepared as an audience and really into the shows.
I think that Treasure Island was probably a little more light-hearted fun (the pigaloos were hilarious!), but I really like both of them and probably would base a decision on which to do on what my probable available talent would be. Boys are extremely important in both of them.
8/01 COMPOSER YOURSELF: I went to the John Jacobson workshop in Atlanta about a week ago and he has a new musical called "Compose Yourself" that you might want to take a look at. I noticed that Music K-8 has this It looks like it would be great for 4th and 5th grades! Lots of speaking parts and all the major composers seem to be in there. A lot of the well-known themes like "Moonlight Sonata," Mozart's "Alleluia," "On the Beautiful Blue Danube," and the Brahms Lullaby are in there. I know you can order it from Pepper Music and Music K-8. If I hadn't already documented my plans to do "We Haz Jazz" this year, I would be doing "Compose Yourself" with my 4th-6ths in the spring!6/01 TRIAL OF THE BIG BAD WOLF has been recommended here before....check the archives for info...it may be hard to find a copy, but it is SO much fun.
06/06 TRIAL OF THE BIG BAD WOLF (Costuming) Wolfpack - the boys borrowed black leather jackets with white tee shirts underneath and jeans. We also darkened their noses! HILARIOUS ! Girls in the chorus wore poodle skirts (we made some but a lot of grandmas :) had them still :) so we didn't spend a lot), white blouses with scarves at their neck. Hogney Dangerfield - Pig snout with LARGE pig ears and the suit with bowtie 3 Pigs - pig snouts, pick jackets, darker pick skirts (a la 50's style) (We had a Mom make the pig ears using a headband as a base.) It's all coming back........... Judge - graduation gown and an outrageous white, long wig (English judge "look") Peter - he looked like Hansel ! Swiss alps kid! Grandma - 50's style - pocketbook, glasses, polka dot dress, hat - a real fuddy duddy Weasel and Weaseltoo - two attorneys - very severe, pulled back hairstyle, weasel noses, black rimmed glasses, matching suits - Kathleen Bragle
The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf Popplers Music Inc. 4924 Highway 2 West Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203 1-800-437-1755 FAX (701) 780-9986 mailto: popplers@gfherald.infi.net
12/09 UNITY TREE: Our costumes were basically made by the children in art class. I bought head bands and they decorated cat ears and dog ears to glue on. The cat ears stood up, and the dog ears flopped down. We had the children wear white shirts and they made dog and cat collars. The cat collar was tied with yarn and had a thick pipe cleaner that looked like the loop for the license. Then the cat had a huge fish they decorated with their name on it while the dogs had a huge decorated bone on it with their name. They wore khaki or brown or black pants, tights, or leggings.
Our tree: we started with three stacked milk crates and then wrapped huge cardboard all around it. Then children painted brown and black streaks with paint brushes. Then on top, the art teacher had huge styrofoam balls HUGE ones that we shoved real branches into so the three had big antlers with huge green painted balls. Then the kids traced their hands, painted them green, cut them out and we decorated so the balls had leaves. So you can literally say that their fingerprints were all over the tree!!!!! At the end I had them decorate with patriotic pictures cut like 5X7 and they had to stick them onto a paper clip protrusion that waited for them sticking out of the big green balls. --- Jeanne Nahan
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It's pretty simple, even for young kids. (And kind of short) I added "Best Friends" from the old Silver Burdett books after the dog and cat become friends. I also added some extra speaking parts by having dog and cat themed jokes and poems throughout. I made the ears from bulk headbands I had ordered off the internet. For cats, I used 'foam' papers I got at Michaels and for the dogs, I discovered that if I put 2 popsicle sticks across the top of the band, I could hotglue shaped floppy ears over the top that looked pretty cute. I bought close-out fabric for that. -- Stacey DeVaney06/07 UNITY TREE - I did "The Unity Tree" about four years ago with my kids in the spring, and changed snowing to "Raining" cats & dogs. It really worked much better. Teresa wrote this for her annual winter musical, so she used snowing instead of raining, but with the old phrase, using raining makes more sense. I even had a few students willing to open umbrellas indoors and did some choreography with them. It was great! I didn't need to change anything else in the program, either. I can't wait to do it again!!! -- Betty Petersen, Racine, WI
UNITY TREE: Everyone wore ears which were attached via headbands and the kids looked adorable. It was three years ago so I don't remember too many more details. -- Kathleen Bragle, NBCT '02
UNITY TREE
My school performed this last Spring with 1st - 3rd grades. The kids loved - And the parents continue to tell me that it is their favorite musical of all our performances! It can be adapted for any season. Great musical.For the beginning when it was raining cats and dogs --( first graders were the new dogs and cats arriving via the rain) . I had the dogs(boys) and cats (girls) rain by carrying a balloon and twirling down the middle of the "risers" ( our stage is the choir loft in the church sanctuary) When they got to the bottom they let the balloon go and it floated to the top of the ceiling and they went to their assigned position on stage. ( The balloons came down about 12 hours later during the all school's chapel time the next morning!) The Dogs(boys) and Cats (girls) loved the interactive songs -- which would put them against each other. Too much fun. -- Contributed by Julie Steen
"The Unity Tree," a musical written last year by Teresa Jennings, is designed to teach acceptance and understanding. You can find a lengthy description, plus sound clips, on MusicK8.com:
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?productgroup=90302/05 UNITY TREE with my 2nd graders and happened upon a pretty crafty but easy way to make ears. First of all, there's a wholesaler online called Fresco's where I got headbands for about a dollar a dozen. Then, made cat ears out of felt and/or craft foam. Browns, blacks and grays for the outer part and pink or white for the inner part. Hot glued them on. The dogs were more of a challenge, but I figured something out. (Now to explain it in writing...) I stocked up on dalmatian and leopard-spotted fabric around Halloween, and combed through cheap remnants for other solids and patterns. Cut the fabric in a long 'bone' shape, attach 2 popsicle sticks horizontally on top of the headband (I used tape for that) and hot glue the middle of the 'fabric bone' to the popsicle sticks. This way, you could see the ears where they're not flat against the kids' heads. It gives that look of an alert or quizzical dog. It's not fancy, but I figured it's a step above cardboard cut-outs! - Stacey DeVaney
UNITY TREE: I thought you might like to know that I asked Teresa (composer) what she thought about this question. She thinks that it might be a stretch to do UNITY TREE as written with just Ks. This is not because the music is hard. The songs are well within the reach of Kinder's, especially if they sing along with the full performance versions. Her biggest concern would be their attention span for a 20-minute program even with simple lines to learn. But, as with all of our musicals, we encourage you to shorten and adapt the script as you need. Converting some of the plot into a narrator's part is a good possibility. Don't forget that you can listen to a long excerpt of the musical at our web site, with every song and several long pieces of the script. Here's the address: http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?productgroup=903 Good luck! Paul Jennings
"WHEN HIPPOS CRASHED THE DANCE" is a riot if you just want a "fun" show. Sometimes there's pressure to do one where they actually LEARN something! Then the reviews (How the West Was Really Won, Let George Do It, Sky Happy, Wheels etc.) are appropriate but I suspect the music is getting dated.
WE'RE HAVING A PET SHOW by Denise Gagne is a good one.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS: Fourth Grade: Compose Yourself
Goin' Buggy
Heroes All (A Musical Salute to Champions)
I Need a Vacation
Americans All
Lovin' Kindness
Of Mice and Mozart
The Phantom of the Music Room
School DazeWhale of a Tale
7th, 8th Grade
"IT’S ABOUT TIME".
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SOURCES FOR PLAYS FOR ELEMENTARY
Baker's Plays http://www.bakersplays.com
This company offers a variety of plays for different groups, including "Youth & Teen" and "Young". Representative titles include a comedy named "Barbie, Get Real!" and a musical named "The Broadway Café", both written by the teenaged winners of a scriptwriting 'contest' as opposed to professional scriptwriters. The content of their plays is fairly lightweight, escapist fare well suited to larger casts. If, like me, you are looking for more contemporary issues or educationalrelevance, you will need to look elsewhere. Note: Although the scripts themselves are inexpensive, the royalty fees (ranging from $20 to $50 per performance) can quickly add up.Dramatic Publishing http://www.dramaticpublishing.com 1-800-HIT-SHOW This company claims to sell plays, but prices were not listed on their Web site and royalties are an additional charge (also not listed). Even more frustrating, none of the plays are properly described nor could I find any details about what is contained in each play package.
Eldridge http://www.histage.com 1-800-HI-STAGE None of Eldridge's plays are original or contemporary (to say the least) -- they are based on Old English tales! -- and educators won't find much here that touches on social issues or issues related to their own curriculum. Also, if you are on a tight budget, be warned: Eldridge charges for every *little* thing, and the final tab can be prohibitive. For example, the total for a preview, script, score, cassettes, and royalties based on only two performances of a play costs $149.50 and if you would like the additional products (posters,cast and crew buttons, T-shirts) your new total becomes $179.35. At first glance, the cost of staging an Eldridge production may appear affordable, but after the second show with royalties it really begins to add up.
Reader's Theatre http://www.aaronshep.com Aaron Shepard is a one-man writing empire! His original and entertaining plays are targeted at younger children in grades 3 to 9. FYI, the plays are very short in length (5 to 10 minutes) and include only 1 to 3 cast members. He offers a guide to scripting, staging and performing, plus you can download RealAudio narration of the plays. Prices for each play are not specified on the Web site, but you can purchase his book of plays for $48.95 US.
Samuel French http://www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk Samuel French, based in Britain, offers theatre books and plays which can be purchased off the Net. They have a very small children's theatre section featuring plays adapted from novels, e.g. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Charlotte's Web," and "Winnie the Pooh." As with Baker's Plays, these scripts, while no doubt entertaining, could hardly be called contemporary or educational, which is what I was looking for. By the way, the Samuel French Web site lacked a price list, nor could I locate an e-mail address to send inquiries to. I was, however, able to ascertain that royalty payments for each performance would be required, but once again no prices were listed.
School Show Page http://www.schoolshows.demon.co.uk School Show offers visitors the ability to download "free" scripts ranging from children's plays to high school monologues. The catch is that you are not permitted to perform a "public performance" without purchasing a rather restrictive license, which is enclosed with the script. What may appear to be a great bargain could turn out to be very costly in the long run. In all fairness, however, selling scripts is not the main focus of this excellent information-oriented Web site.
Stage Kids http://www.stagekids.com 1-888-53-STAGE This theatre production company offers 10 contemporary, youth-oriented scripts for *musicals* aimed predominantly at grades 4 to 12. Each title is packaged as a "Musical Theatre Performance Kit" containing the script, vocals and instrumental tracks on a cassette, and study guide. Lead sheets are also available. Stage Kids' original scripts cover issues like substance abuse, environmental awareness, media literacy, and the musicals appear to have been developed with both students and teachers in mind -- they are entertaining yet also have value offstage and in the classroom. One thing I liked was, compared to some of the other companies, Stage Kids has made their pricing scheme simple and affordable; the cost for a complete "Performance Kit" is $169 and NO royalty payments are required. Kits can be ordered using an online form, via fax, or by calling a toll-free number. Grade: A
Plank Road publishing has several musicals interesting, fun, CD accompaniments available: http://www.musick8.com/
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************MUSICALS FOR LOWER ELEMENTARY, Grades 1-3
for K, see Pre-School/Kindergarten Ideas12/11 GOLDIE AND THE THREE BEARS was by Donna Dirksing - short, do-able and cute. I think I liked the "3 Piggy Opera" better but this fit the bill. It is published by Milliken. ---- Kathleen Bragle
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07/11 CIRCUS CIRCUS by John Jacobsen I've done this show several times, and it is always a hit. Probably one of the most requested repeats. 2nd grade can handle this one. Everyone gets to be a circus character. I thought the show was a bit short, so I added magicians and had some of the kids who were in gymnastics perform with musical accompaniment of "Entry of the Gladiators." We also had an uncle who did the balloon animals to entertain the audience prior to the show while the rest were lining up. And of course, popcorn for everyone! ---- Mary Irwin
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06/07 CIRCUS, CIRCUS by John Higgins & John Jacobsen I did Circus Circus with my first graders. It has a very easy dialogue all in rhyme and very catchy lyrics. I did it also because I have all the old circus costumes from my old school It comes with a CD(perf/acc) a teacher book and reproducable lyric sheets. Roxanne Trump-Miles
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10/04 THE BEST GIFT EVER I've done [this] with K-5, but the songs were simple - all unison, and all fun for the kids - so every child from K-5 could sing them by the end of the concert. This would work well for your grade 2s. If anyone would like a sample, just email, or visit www.musicplay.ca to read script and hear audio. -- Contributed by Denise Gagne www.musicplay.ca; www.christmasconcert.com
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10/04 BUGZ by John Jacobsen, John Higgins
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/pages.html?cart=3302678510446722&target=smp_detail.html%26sku%3DHL.9970159&s=pages-www.google.com/search&e=/sheetmusic/detail/HL.9970159.html&t=&k=&r=wwws-err5
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10/04 DECEMBER IN OUR TOWN: Has elements of multiculturalism
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HOW DOES YOU GARDEN GROW? By John Jacobsen K-4
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/product.html?command=search&db=/store/db/inventory.db&eqskudata=HL.9970036&searchtitle=sheet%20music&id=10275
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10/04 HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED CHRISTMAS by Teresa Jennings http://www.musick8.com/ This year [this musical]in 4th grade. The penguins are getting ready for Christmas when they hear a terrible thump. Two penguins drag in a guy dressed in read who "fell right out of the sky." They figure out he's Santa, but when he wakes, he doesn't remember who he is! This will be about the 5th time I've done it (different schools and years, of course). It's a great show, easy to stage (throw some white sheets over a few chairs), easy to costume (kids wear black, make white bibs out of construction paper). I've added "Dancin' On the Rooftop" (Christmas version) for the reindeer. also, one of the reindeer doesn't have a line, so he/she carries Santa's hat, "Here, Santa, I found your hat." There are enough songs for each grade, and one of them is obviously written just for kinders. - Susan Simandle, Music Specialist
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THE LITTLE BELL THAT COULD NOT RING by Donna Amorosia I did add a song from MK8. I think it was "Merry Christmas Bells". I also added more speaking parts to lengthen the program. My parents do all the scenery and props. They made Chritsmas trees out of foam board, cut out a circle at the top for the student's face. Fortunately, I have elf costumes and a Santa costume. It was a very simple musical to do. I loved the songs. ---- Carla MeiersI just LOVED this show! I did it with second grade. To extend the show time & accomodate those who were not "Christmas people", I added 2 other shows! I wrote music to go with a Hannukah story and we performed that, I think we also did a posada procession and some music for the fiesta. That way we covered the population and no one was offended that we only did Christmas. ---- Dianne Park
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12/07 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE: It's cute, has a great message and is very "do-able" with a K/1 group.
Plank Road Publishing: mk8list@musick8.com -- Julie in ILThe Littlest Christmas Tree: Play with parodies on familiar children’s songs free online:
http://www.dltk holidays.com/xmas/mlittlest_christmas_tree.htm12/07 INTERPLANETARY JAMMIN’ by Donna Amorosia is great for first grade. 20 minutes long. www.sheetmusicplus.com -- Artie Almeida
10/04 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE
1 - I did it last year with K & 1. It went very well. It was well loved by students and well received by the audience.
ELVES - - I made elf hats out of felt, dyed small adult white t-shirts green and had them tie it around the waist with heavy red cord cut to 36" lengths. (I save these and reuse every year for the elves in the various programs I do in Dec.)
TREES - - I cut trees out of large green heavy poster board and punched two holes near the top and attached green yarn so that the tree hung around the students neck. The littlest tree just had a smaller version -
MRS. CLAUS - - I found a green dress at Goodwill and bought a pair of granny glasses at the dollar store and added an matching white apron and bonnet - from Oriental Trading, I think!Because I did this with younger students I divided the tree and elf parts so that I had 20 elves and 18 trees. I picked "advanced" first graders to play the parts of Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Littlest Tree and worked with them individually during recess and they learned their lines rather quickly. -- Joan Jahnsen
10/04 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE
I have done [this musical] several times with 1st graders. The kids loved it as did the parents. I think it is doable for K's but it will take a lot more repetition. We made the Christmas Trees out of foam core and cut them with an xacto knife, we then painted them and put velcro dots on so the characters can decorate the littlest Christmas tree when it is called for in the script. It is really an adorable show and the little solo is so beautiful. There wasn't a dry eye in the house! -- Adrienne Werring10/04 LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE: I don't think this will be too difficult for K's if you start early enough. For costuming, I had a mother make little green headbands with a yellow star glued on and then I had green felt "bibs" cut in the shape of Christmas trees. Later in the program I think they decorate the Christmas tree and it is easy to have felt light bulbs and ornaments placed on the felt "tree". The reindeer wore brown antler headbands with brown "bibs", and then I think there were elves and they had elf hats and vests. -- Caryn Mears Kennewick, WA
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10/04 OF MICE AND MOZART This one tells the story of Mozart's life as seen through the eyes of the mice that live in his house. They take Mozart's most well-known pieces and put appropriate words to them. I actually used this for a combined 4th Grade and 1st Grade program (of all things). I had the 4th graders be the "humans" and the 1st graders be the mice. It would also work with 2nd grade. -- Contributed by Jeni West
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NUTS by John Higgins and John Jacobsen. I've done the show [this show] with my 1st graders already and it was so great that my principal had them perform it at least 4 additional times throughout the end of the year just because they were so good. ---- Matthew Flynn
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10/04 PACHABEL CANON: I have taught it and it's beautiful.
Bass Bars play "Cute Girls Always Eat Fried Chicken From Georgia" Bass plays ground bass.... on first beat... each is held for 4 counts.
AX/SX add the third and the fifth to the bass part. Rhythm is rest ta ta ta.
AG/SG Whole notes Start on High C going down a step at a time until E, then up to G.
Recorders add the third to this line. It's easier than it sounds.
I layer in the Orffs, singers sing the first verse twice, then layer out the Orffs.
Students sing “The First Noel”
You can also play the melody on recorders. It's The voice has an upbeat of ED on the fourth beat before you start the basses on C...... -- Patricia Albritton
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10/04 THE REVOLT OF THE FOOLISH MOLAR Free on loan through Michigan Dental Association (one probably has to contact own state's dental association)
Michigan: http://www.michigandental.org/scripts/main.asp?pageID=9&contentID=38&menuLev1=28&pageDesc=PUB%3AITEMS+ON+LOAN
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THREE OF A KIND by John Higgins utilizes many of the story book characters (of course the ones that contain the groups of 3) such as Three Little Pigs, Three Muskateers, Three Blind Mice and more. We did this as a third grade several years ago and it was a hit and soo cute. I would recommend it.
http://www.music44.com/X/product/9970381-H1 --- Brenda Kehl
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10/04 UP ON A HOUSETOP -- I loved doing this Jacobson musical. Chimney sweeps are the characters, and they look down "chimneys" to discover different holiday traditions.... (each grade could do one). I gave the youngest ones the Christmas scenario and we did a nativity pantomime. Since we had Hannukah, a Fiesta, and Kwanzaa , also, it was allowable. Parents loved it. Laura Mc in IN
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10/04 10/04 THREE WISE MEN & A BABY My absolute favorite musical. Lots of humor and great music. -- Monica in WI OrffBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************MUSICALS FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY
01/16 FAVORITES: Granny Awards, Gotta Be Jazz, American Dream and Bebop With Aesop. Bad Wolf Press, anything by Jill and Michael Gallina,
The Words We Live By (arr Greg Gilpin)
As the Pages Turn - Shawnee Press by Janet Gardner
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10/12 "American Pop Forever," 2-part, by Mark Bryner, Hal Leonard Corp.
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“Who Pushed Humpty?” by Norm Sands & Sherry Frost Description: In the play, Mother Goose is asked by Old King Cole to investigate the possibility of foul play in the loss of poor Humpty.
Available at http://www.musick8.com/store/hl_detail.php?i_n=35025839BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************MUSICALS FOR HIGH SCHOOL
ALADDIN drew the biggest crowds (people knew what it was about and brought their little ones) and had the potential for a large cast because there's some big dance numbers. We had a lot of fun with that one, and it was relatively easy to costume because you can find Jafar, Aladdin and Jasmine costumes anywhere.GODSPELL - We did [this] this past year, and that could also work. We had 20 cast members, but you can go larger or smaller. You could freak everyone out and have Jesus be a girl. ---- Jennifer Schroeder
INTO THE WOODS I think the male parts that definitely have to be males are maybe the Baker, the wolf and the two princes. The narrator can be a girl, and Jack can be played by a younger girl since Jack is supposed to be a boy with an unchanged voice or at least a tenor. The audience enjoyed the fairy tale aspect.
JOSEPH was my absolute favorite of all time, but that one would probably be hard to do without guys. Definitely a crowd-pleaser, though. I'm probably going to do this one again in 2015 when my youngest is a senior.-- Jennifer Schroeder
I have done "Go West" twice! I LOVE it and so do the kids.
PIRATES was so easy to costume, and you could make a lot of the pirates be girls with mustaches painted on. In fact, my mother asked my daughter (who played a girl) who was that boy who was hanging around her after the show, and it was actually my daughter's friend who was playing a male pirate. I think you'd need boys for Frederick, the Pirate King and the Modern Major General.
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************ORFF (Repertoire, Rules, Collections, Suggestions, Instruments)
07/13 PLAYING A SOLO: I do it like I learned in Orff levels. Scaffolding and lotsa repetition. But my way.... Months in the making. Don't rush this.
Put on a slow blues tune in Em. Choose your tone set. I start with G and E. use blues in am and use A and C, if desired. Later add more pitches.
Kids sit in a circle.
Group echoes your 4 beat patterns. Many times. Clarify how many beats they are playing till that is automatic (phrase length).
Small groups/individuals echo your pattern. Change with each kid. Many times. Go around the circle. Now, with lotsa examples in their ears and under their fingers, go to 8 beats. Start the process again. Echo, etc. Then give them the opportunity of each playing 8 beats, and end on E. Many times. Count the eight beats outloud so they really get the phrase length. Point out that they are improvising which means whatever they place is fine as long as it is musical and they are done in 8 bets.They will want to get fancy and they do not have the skill yet. Gently corral them to the tone set you have identified. Smile at each effort but do not pass judgement at all on the quality of the improv except maybe on the phrase length. They are still scribbling, not really writing, like a kid does when he is getting ready to learn to write letters. Praise their willingness and phrase length.
Do this a lot.
Gradually add more pitches to the tone set. Remind them that rests are good too.
You can comment after on what you heard without passing judgement. I heard John play several repeated notes and then do a rest. She went straight up and down the pitches. Sal played only one pitch the whole time but with a whole lot of fast sounds.
Pointing out in musical language what you heard helps the kids identify what else can happen and helps them add to their repertoire of improv ideas.
Next step: have kid A play 8 beats, kid B echo. All around the circle many times.
Next step: kid A plays 8 beats and ends on something NOT E. Kid B plays and ends on E. All around many times. Note question and answer form. Has to relate musically somehow.
Next step: kid A plays 8 beats, ends on NOT E. B starts similarly to A, then does own thing and ends on E.
Keep the tone set small but if a hotshot wants to expand past it, that is okay. Keep the requirements smaller so they can concentrate on the other complexities you are presenting.
But you should feel free to jump in and take a ride too to help you bust out of your own box. --- Martha Stanley
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12/12 PRACTICE PADS: Take the bars off of whatever instrument and trace them onto poster board or whatever paper you have. Then lay them out in the correct order, leaving about 1/4 inch between "bars". Cut a piece about 3 inches tall by about 2 inches wider than your "bars". Use strapping tape with filament to secure them to the top piece. Put a piece of tape on the top side as well as the bottom side of the "bars". Write the name of the "instrument" across the top piece indicating if it is bass or alto. When you need to take of a bar, simply flip it up over the top piece. Then the kids have the actual pattern on which to practice. ------ Cynthia Sibitzky
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MALLETS: (For xylophone and mallet issues see: Rhythm & Melody Instruments in the Classroom/Xylophones, Mallets & Resonator Bells) 12/09 ORFF BOOKS: Exploring Orff and Discovering Orff. Both are from Schott Music. You may find them on ebay or amazon.com.
Buy "Mallet Madness by Artie Almeida from Heritage Music Press.
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10/12 ORFF SONGS - Original: This is Sonor's site and has an interesting downloadable song database; folk songs/classical/original/elemental http://www.sonor-orff.com/index.php?lang=english ----- This is Sonor's site and has an interesting downloadable song database; folk songs/classical/original/elemental http://www.sonor-orff.com/index.php?lang=english
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12/09 ANGKLUNG IDEAS:. (These are individual notes made from bamboo from Indonesia which you shake to get a sound - working a bit like chime bars: one child gets one note.)
They best suit slow melodic lines which move by step. Or probably chordal accompaniments, though I haven't done this much.
I had a double set borrowed last term from another school and here's what I did:
Concert items: 1. Pachelbel Canon - I did this with Grade 5s -(Start with bass line on Marimba: C'C'C'C' GGGG AAAA EEEE FFFF CCCC FFFF GGGG
On Anklung:Descending line: C' B A G F E F G
Then add: E' D' C B A G A B
Add glockenspiel: G' G' G' A' G' F' E' E' E' F' E' D' C G C B
Then 'main' faster melody on recorder (or I had a boy who could play it on xylophone)
We added nice movement: two big lengths of light fabric wafted into the air and 3 dancers with rainbow ribbons - each of which began at the start of a section so the 'canon' was reflected somewhat. Sounded and looked lovely!
2. The White Flower by Jon Madin (from Marimba Music for Little Kids):
Bass on marimba - D A D A, Melody on anklung
This was done with by Grade 4 kids, holding 'candles' and processing down aisles from the back of the hall in darkness. Very atmospheric!
3. Classroom pitch activities: Working out the scale with children standing in line.Playing "Hot Cross Buns" (E, D, C):
1. Teacher points to the 'notes', children just play.
2. Child points (really shows if they 'get' the handsigns/solfa - they are often surprised to get it wrong!).
3. Children play without a 'conductor'.Working out other places to play Hot Cross Buns:
A G F and B A G - but after hearing how other places don't work. ---Heather McL (Melbourne, Victoria)
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06/09 INSTRUMENT TABLES: I retrieved several computer (metal) carts when teachers discarded them for more esthetic computer stations. They have three shelves on them . I removed the top shelf and lowered the middle shelf all the way down to about 8 inches off the floor. I put the bass xylophones on these. Another music teacher lowered the shelf too on hers but not as much and has two alto xylophones on the cart back to back . Kids stand and play from either side on those. See if you can find rolling carts like these at school surplus stores. --- Listee, MK8 NewsletterThis year we moved into a new building and and got over 20 new ELMO T2's with expensive carts. The classroom teachers all disgarded there overhead projector carts and most went to storage. You might have a similar situation in hour district with carts that are hiding in storage just for you to grab...free!
My school had many old student desks, which had been replaced by newer models. I appropriated enough for one per xylo or metallophone. Just perfect, didn't cost a thing. Height was pretty good for most, but I kept 4 or 5 of the Rubbermaid step stools for when a short student in the lower grades just needed a boost. Glocks when not in use sat on the front edges of these instrument desks. In music class we used chairs--I am NOT a floor person, wasn't even when I was younger--and what we had were Wenger music chairs with fold-out desks. So, when we used the entire instrumentarium, students would carefully carry glocks from the edge of the other desks over to the fold-out desk/chairs, which worked out perfectly for playing.--- Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana E. Luane Campbell Elementary Music Instructor & Talented and Gifted intervention specialist Mt. Gilead Schools, Ohio
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12/07 BOOK: Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata by Phillis Gershator; ISBN: 0-316-30470-0. It's a darling little story suitable for early childhood. I've already [set] it to music: It's in the key of C Major and is scored in 4/4. Lyrics: Rata pata scata fata, Rata pata scata fata, Rata pata scata fata, all day long! (last time, "all NIGHT long!")
Rhythm: Tii-ki, tii-ki (dotted eighth followed by a 16th note) the whole way through until "all day long!" which is ta - ta - ta-a. (quarter, quarter, half note)
Melody: Do do do do, mi re do do, Mi mi mi mi, So fa mi mi, So so so so, Do la so mi, So So low Do!
Orff arrangement:BX: C G C G, C G C' G, C G C G, C G C' rest
(Arpeggiated/crossover bordun)
Word helpers: Ma - gic word I sing all day 'cause ma - gic words mean I can play!
AX: G rest, G rest, G C G C, G rest, G rest, G C G rest
Word helpers: Jun - Jun! Get to work please; Jun - Jun! Get to work!
Ratchet: Plays on the 4th beat of the 4th measure.Word helper: NOW!The song is sung each time the phrase is mentioned in the book. It is then repeated. The instruments keep playing and the various groups of Orff instruments (soprano xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels) or categories of unpitched instruments (large percussion, membranes, wood, and metal) take turns improvising in C pentatonic (remove all F's and B's) for 8 measures. The phrase occurs 4 times in the book.
Thus, we will create a large rondo: A - sing & play
B - SX improvise as basic orchestration continues. (BX & AX are in the orchestration.)
The second time:A - sing & play
C - Metallophones improvise as basic orchestration continues.
The third time:A - sing & play
D - Glockenspiels improvise as basic orchestration continues.
The fourth time A - sing & play
E - Either all the unpitched instruments or perhaps 2 groups, such as membranes (hand drums, bongos) and wood improvise as basic orchestration continues.What National Standards have you covered in the lesson:
1. Singing alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments alone, and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. -- Cak
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12/07 BOOK: You will love Walt's books as well as Jon Madin's. I tend to use Walt's books (Hot Marimba and Marimba Mojo) with my marimba bands... the more advanced kids. - as posted by Camille Page on (date) in the MK8 archives br>----------------------------------
06/07 BOOK: “Mallet Madness” by Artie Almeida offers lesson, activities, poems, literature connections and teaches music concepts. A description at:
http://www.amazon.com/Mallet-Madness-Grades-Reproducible-Flash/dp/0893284440/sr=8-5/qid=1169906734/ref=sr_1_5/102-8796125-4427318?ie=UTF8&s=books
Several teachers recommend this book.
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06/07 SONG: Hitori is absolutely gorgeous! - Julie Jones
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06/07 TEACHING OSTINATOS: Teach it with body percussion first. Divide the class in 2 parts - have one part chant/perform one part and then bring in the other part. The challenge for them will be to keep the steady beat and not rush.I start teaching ostinato in 1st and 2nd grade with little rhymes (Jeff and Randy's GamePlan has a lot of great activities. I also have a lot of Marilyn Wood's stuff from the past.) What I do in the younger grades is teach them a poem with movements, then after they are really good with the poem, I'll teach a simple ostinato for them to perform while I am saying the poem. I make it a game and see if they can do it without me messing them up!!! Then we switch and divide in groups, etc. until there is a mastery of the poem and ostinato. Then, we put our body percussion parts to instruments! :)
For the older kids they are always up to the challenge - I did Jeff and Randy's "Standin' in the Need of Prayer" earlier this year and they did a great job with 4 part ostinatos to the song! I was so impressed!
My advice would be to take it in small sections and maybe teach one at a time, then have them perform one and you perform a different ostinato on top of what they are doing. Keep teaching them in that way until they have mastered all the parts. -- Raeanna Goss
06/07 Start out easy: do simple ostinatos with Scotland's Burning, Frere Jacques, other rounds. Move to some simple ostinatos on some Orff instruments while others improvise. Then do your harder one. If you need to start easier, do a rhythm ostinato during song. After this, kids should get it. Remember ostinato means 'stubborn'.........Liz Eggers
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12/06 BALANCE BETWEEN INSTRUMENTS & PLAYERS: This means you have a ratio of 1 instrument to 4 or 5 kids. This sounds OK to me, but the dynamics of massed sections can be tricky. How much rehearsal time do you have? Are you rehearsing in the concert space?
Trial and error may be required to get things balanced out nicely. Don't forget that an audience will absorb a lot of sound as well. Placing of singers and instruments will affect the way the massed sound works too. Don't be afraid to move things around, eg. instruments in front, behind, split and at the sides etc. Are you using metallophones? they could be very effective in this piece.If your instruments are too loud on a wooden floor, put carpet under them. Try having some raised on tables or benches. Try to have all your musicians trained to follow your conducting signals including those of dynamics, so you can adjust as you go. Make your cinducting clear and decisive. Don't forget - it is supposed to be fun! The world won't end if your choir is a little unbalanced!
In rehearsal, get them going and walk back to about 2/3 down the hall. You are listening for BALANCE, it doesn't matter if other things go askew. Have a hanky, or a sign for the singers. If you raise the sign, they go louder, if you raise the other hand the instruments go louder. Once you get it balanced, have them continue playing, and go back to your position. See how it sounds there. If everything is OK, try singers and instruments separately at that volume, and then together again ( so they get a feel for themselves how loud to be). The make sure they understand this is their volume for the concert. (Still being ready to change at your direction,) --- John Handley
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12/06 BOOK: Go on line to www.musicrhapsody.com and check out the musical activity books there. They are Orff based and use lots of very imaginative singing, movement and instrument activities that ae designed to build music ability, appreciation on awareness. They are fun things that the kids in the pre k age group could really get into. --Yolanda Marshall
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WHO GETS TO PLAY ON CONCERTS? I work with 3 sections of each grade level. I teach all classes as much as possible (at minimum the singing & movement of each concert piece), but for purposes of the performance, one class would be assigned to play instruments, another sing, and the other perform the movement. Much more efficient for purposes of putting arrangements together. In your case with 4 sections, you could add a recorder componet if your students are working in that area, or simply feature 2 sections of singers. This is ideal if your kids are working on rounds or canons. When I plan the programming, I'd have enough pieces per grade level so that each group of students would have an opportunity to sing, dance/move, and play at least once. -- Helen Tormey
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06/06 STORING XYLOPHONES: I'm in the Midwest (hot, humid summers). I try to take the bars off of the instruments each summer, wrap them in left-over bulletin board paper and store them in a closet. I used to store the bodies of the instruments in the closet too, on shelves, but now we have the carts for all of them, and they won't all fit on the floor in the closet. I'm the only one who uses my room, even in the summer, so it really isn't a big deal to leave the bodies in the main room. I just like to remove the bars in case it gets really hot. Don't want the bars melting the tubing and sticking! I also try to rub some lemon oil on the wooden bars each year to hopefully keep them from drying out and cracking. -- Jennifer Schroeder
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\ 12/06 BENT PINS:Demonstrate putting a penny on the center of the bar and then pick up the bar so as not to drop the penny! --- Alan Purdum
I do the bars for them until some time in 1st or early 2nd grade. Then we repeat over and over "two hands, straight in the air." -- Jennifer Schroeder
USE TWO HANDS, LIFT STRAIGHT UP! USE TWO HANDS, LIFT STRAIGHT UP! Ruth Denise Lowrie
I used to use airplanes and helicopters, but now I just use airplanes because it works for glocks, xlyos and metallos. They reach across and pick up that end off the pin, then pull it out away from them "like an airplane taking off on the runway." Then they go on in the reverse. Not only do you have to protect the pins from damage, you also do not want kids pushing down the glock bars onto those (what I call) "little rubber hats" that are on the end closest to you. (as least on the studio 49 glocks...I don't know about others) The airplane landing on the runway helps with this as they slide the end closest to them under "the little rubber hats." You can only smash those metal bars down on the rubber so many times before it will start breaking off.
HOWEVER, I have found that whatever trick you use to teach them proper care for removing and replacing bars, you will always have the few that either think it doesn't matter or just forget, and end up picking up that bar on the end closest to them and lifting it way up. CRINGE!!! Nothing beats close supervision when removing bars.-- Martha Evans Osborne12/05 GENTLY try to bend the pin back. You may need a pair of pliers or a light hammer. I found replacement pins through www.West Music.com. Today I have my own Peripole instruments in my private teaching. Love them. Those pins will take a lot but that aren't going to get it because I insist kids take off the bars carefully and properly with the following chant I got somewhere - Hand on top, hand below, lift them high, and away they go. I even make my adults say it so they'll remember to take off bars properly. -- Ardith J. Roddy
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JUMP FROG, JUMP: I use this for an Orff lesson.
1. Read the book to the children. Our library has the big book version so it's easy to see.
Every time you say jump frog jump, the children pat their left hand on their left leg, then their right hand on their right leg, then their left hand crosses over and hits the floor on the right side of their body (a crossover)2. Once they are good at this, we read the book again and have the children take turns playing this on an Orff instrument:
low D, A, D’, all quarter notes. They already know to cross their left hand over for the higher D. We rotate through until all the children have had a turn. They love this. -- Jennifer Biles
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06/06 STRUCTURING MUSIC [[I want a way, a process, something, to be able to include a B section after an A section. The B > section needs to be a way for kids to do structured improv on their instruments, bars, npp, whatever. The A section would be the actual piece.]]
I've used the rhythm of the piece (A section) as the rhythm for the B (improv) section. Is that what you meant, Martha? Am I close to what you were thinking? Example: When we did the program (planting trees ceremony) for the Mayor just recently, the 6-8 played the Orff instruments and recorders. The 4/5 graders played on the drum circle instruments. The 6-8 marched in after the 4/5 were seated. 6-8 had hand drums with mallets and we did a drum rondo. Then the 6-8 moved to the Orff instruments and the 4/5 moved into a circle holding hands and circling CCW. The next time A was repeated, they circled the other direction (CW). Song using block bordun in the basses and a crossover in the Altos and Sopranos. Glocks played a soddering at the end of each phrase. Song: so la la so so mi so la mi so la so mi so la mi Wind up the Apple Tree, hold on tight, wind all day and wind all night. Ta ti ti ti ti ta, ta ta taa Ta ta ta ta ta ta taa For the B section, the basses continued block (phooey, old habit, that's what I was taught - some say to call it chord or simple) borduns, while everyone else played the melody on the recorder. Repeat A For the C section, alternating with the A section, 4 students played improvisation (C pentatonic) to the rhythm of the words. So there were really C, C', C'', C''' sections alternating with the song. During the improv, the circling (dancing) stopped. Each individuals improv had to end on C. -- Patricia Albritton
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10/05 STATES SONG (create): I'd begin by getting lists of all the regional grouping of states in the order they are learned by the students. After chanting them over to myself until they fell into a comfortable rhythm, I'd add an ostinato pattern under that. For example, it would take 4 times with a pattern of "quarter, quarter, half___" to get me through the 11 states in my first set. My body percussion for this would be "patsch/patsch/clap___."For the next set, I'd use the same process but select a complementary ostinato pattern and also different body percussion. As long as you can create a complementary pattern for each new set of states and change the body percussion, this seems like it might work. As a music teacher, I'd want to eventually transfer the ostinato patterns to unpitched percussion instruments, but use of the body percussion would allow use of the activity in situations where instruments aren't available. I noticed you want the students to do the rhythms, so in order to get the variety of ostinatos needed for layering all the groups, I'd encourage them to create the speech rhythms but guide (or create myself) the actual ostinato patterns.
For state AND capitals, what comes to mind is just chanting the two elements antiphonally back and forth until the end of each geographical list. When I used to teach 50 Nifty to 5ths, I had large laminated posters of state names grouped by phrase, with the first of each group in red. For example, the first card listed Alabama through Connecticut in a column. Students took turns holding the cards, and the class could look while they sang.
After a few repetitions, the student holding each card flipped it as soon as they heard their "red" state sung. Soon the song could be sung with just the red cue states showing, then finally no visual cues were needed. I can see doing this with the states & capitals - first showing everything, then just the states, then nothing - until the whole set is automatic. Along with the antiphonal speech, (one state or capital per beat) a basketball or soccer ball could be tossed between the two groups. -- Connie Herbon
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02/05 WHAT IS ORFF? There is a huge misunderstanding among many persons, including some of well-known, self-aggrandizing ersatz Orff instructors, that Orff is really kind of a Junior Band with special instruments. That is just plain wrong. There is a huge emphasis on process or how do you get from here to here in skills and musicality and self-expression. The product, the music made, stems from the creativity of the teacher allowing the kids to be creative. So an Orff "arrangement" is actually the teacher's talent and skill, rather than the kids'. Not that this is all bad.... It's just that Orff is SO MUCH MORE than the nice music. Perhaps that is why some of us don't just jump up and say "here's my score for this tune." There are plenty of those you can buy and use, some more successfully than others. And some of the ones we could notate are SO simple, it's not really that helpful.When you take [training Orff]levels 1, 2 and 3 in order to become Orff certified, you will find out about what it takes to make good arrangements. A well-taught levels class will take you through the same processes that you will eventually take with the kids. You will learn from the inside out how it feels to make nice, satisfying music with 2 notes, then three, then more; how to use ostinati and patterns as accompaniment; how to set up experiences in which the KIDS create the music in a safe, nurturing and musical framework. We can't just give you that in an arrangement. Arrangements, techniques, books and resources are most useful, but without the personal experiences of well-taught levels classes, they are probably gonna stay at the level of Junior Band. "Here's a score, learn it, perform it. Next score, learn it, perform it." That is just not what Orff's all about.
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GETTING ORFF TRAINING: You might get some good ideas from Jane Frazee's book, Discovering Orff
(see http://www.music44.com/X/product/STAP099-W
for a little more info). You can also join AOSA (www.aosa.org) and start getting the Orff magazines which are quite helpful with practical ideas, sources, lesson ideas, etc. Notice that "Orff approach" is the preferred appellation over "Orff method." Well-done as intended, the approach makes the teacher the guide on the side, rather than the sage on the stage. A method is teacher-centered and directed, an approach guides kids into their own masteries. Find someone in your local Orff chapter to explain the Orff process to you and then the next time you go to a workshop, see if the presenters actually take you through the process -- or if they go straight for product. The extra time used in the process is extremely valuable and makes the end product so much more intrinsically musical. -- Martha in Tallahassee Level III+ certified, NBCT
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08/04 ORFF EMAIL DISCUSSION LIST To subscribe go to www.yahoogroups.com, search my musicforchildren - and subscribe. Also check out this site for a discussion group: http://www.geocities.com/sandyandgretchen.
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GETTING KIDS TO INSTRUMENTS Another good change of instrument chant to use is: 1,2,3,4 time to get up off the floor. 5, 6,7,8, hurry don't be late! -then everyone plays a "C" on their new instrument to complete the rhythm. I think I got this idea from Artie Almeida
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Every Spring I introduce my kinders to the xylophones with Hot Cross Buns. We learn to sing it and we perform actions: Clap, cross shoulders, patch. We sing it in the key of G so it's B,A,G. We use the same actions but backwards for "one a penny, two a penny." I bake or buy Hot Cross Buns and let them sample them as I tell them a little of the history from England. I show them how to play the barred instruments and show them the difference in the xylophone and the metallophone. We remember that every instrument has something that vibrates. We look at the thickness and length of the bars and have a mini science lesson. I draw the letters on the bars I have drawn on the board.
We practice singing the letters as we "air mallet." We sing the letters/note names, the words, and "high, middle, low." We practice using our air mallets on the floor on our imaginary xylophones and finally we take turns playing the instruments. They are so excited to play them and we take turns by using the chant I got out of one of the "Orff" books I have: "Move on over. Move on over. Move on over and we'll do it again.
The person that just played moves to the opposite end of his row and we do it all over again! I have a bass, alto, soprano and a metallophone at my morning school. I set up one instrument per row and we all get a turn during one class period. I have many sets of melody bells at my afternoon school so they get to play a bit more.-- Contributed by Kristin Lukow ~ Nebraska
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Repertoire 08/04 CHRISTMAS ORFF MUSIC:
-Holidays (21 Festive Orff Arrangements for Unchanged voices and Orff Instruments) compiled by Susan Van Dyck and Nancy Ferguson (Memphis Musicraft Pub.) ****My kids have ALWAYS loved "Fat Jolly Man" from this book
-This Is The Day (Songs For Special Days) by Jane Frazee and Arvida Steen -Highlighting The Holidays by Jeff Kriske and Randy DeLelles (Kid Sounds Pub.)
-Making The Most Of The Holidays by Jeff Kriske and Randy DeLelles (Kid Sounds Pub.)
-Seasons In Song (volume 2 - Winter) by Cak Marshall (MMB Music Inc.)
-From Hay Rides To Sleigh Rides by David R. Asplund and Shelley Nordlund (Jenson Pub.)
-'Tis The Season (recorder song with Orff Instruments) by Carol King (Memphis Musicraft Pub.)
-Holidays and Special Days by Grace C. Nash and Janice Rapley (Alfred Pub.) ***this book has a NUMBER of great songs -Primary Songs For Christmas by Donna Otto (Lenel Music Pub.) -Orffestrations for Winter Holidays by Linda Forrest (Heritage Music Press) -Orffestrations for Christmas (volume 2 ) by Linda Forrest (Heritage Music Press) (I do have a number of songs that I have arranged for Orff from different sources as well) Favorite Orff Pieces.......
-Joy Triumphant -Skiing Song
-Make A Joyful Noise -Christmas Chopsticks
-Bells Are Ringing -Christmas Bells Ringing
-Purcell Canon for Instruments
-Let The Sleigh Bells Ring
-My Christmas List
-What I Want For Christmas
-Sakura (click here:) Multicultural Music click on "Japan"
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MALLETS: 1. One mallet rests on each shoulder unless playing. Develop your own "thing" about what to call that position. "Listening Position" "Resting Position," "Home Position", etc. Whatever works for you. 2. If that doesn't work with one or two children, simply quietly and objectively, without losing your cool, go over and take their mallets and tell them quietly to please use their fingertips to play until you see that they can follow mallet procedures correctly. The others see that you "mean business" without being "mean" and will generally take the hint. It has for me, anyway. Kids relish structure and we are the only ones in the classroom setting who can give it to them. I've found that overall mood of rehearsal is more relaxed, learning parts is improved, and it's just a lot more bloomin' fun to be in the room! :-) Pat Boozer
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MALLETS: When I bring the kids to the instruments I have them put the mallets in "rest" position. I don't have them cross the mallets. (for the clicking effect, and I've seen fiberglass mallets that have been clicked together a lot and the shafts are splintered and cracked) Then I take them through a little sequence to make sure they are focused, and using correct technique:
1)"Mummy mallets" rest position- Arms are crossed, with mallets straight up in the crooks of the elbows.
2) "bug antennae" - looks how it sounds...mallets on the head. (focus)
3) "Pinnocchio" - mallets on the nose (more focus)
4) "Unicorn" - one mallet out your forehead (FOCUS ALREADY!!!)
5) "Ear-o-corn" - mallets out your ears (pure silliness)
6) "Lollipops" - don't lick 'em- yucky. mallets straight up - can sing the "lollipop lollipop, oh lolly lolly lolly lollipop" song. - (correct hold)
7) "windshield wipers" - back and forth, swish swish, swish... (correct hold)
8) "caterpillar" - fingers crawl up to the top of the mallets, and back down again...BUT NOT ALL THE WAY DOWN! (correct hold, finger dexterity) 8.5) "Wag the tail" - wiggle the tail of the mallets (makes sure mallets are not held at the very end)
9) "harley handlebars" - angle the mallets like chopper handlebars -"vroom vroom!"- twist them back and forth (keeps pinkies and pointies in, makes a nice playing angle)
10) "heads down" move mallet heads down to the bars you are going to start on. (prepare to play)
11) "Flatten out" move the shafts flat to the bars (correct wrists)
12) play...
13) "Mummy Mallets" - when finished
14) "Put 'em together" - hold both in one hand
15) "Bunch o' roses" - hide them behind your
16) "Give your friend some roses" - give them to a friend
17) "smell the roses" - hold both mallets together as the new player goes to the instrument - only smell them if you REALLY want to
18) "Put 'em together" - hold both in one hand, heads up (when finished last time)
19) "pat them on the head" - (keeps them from indulging in an impromptu jam session)
20) "Lay them in bed" - with hand on the mallet heads - puts the mallets on the instruments
21) "Tiptoe away" - don't wake them up, they'll be awake all NIGHT!!!I don't, of course, do all of these every time with everybody, but hopefully some helpful things...if nothing else, it gives them a bazillion other things to do besides smacking the things together. Mostly, just watch the kids and focus the little exercises on what they need to work on...(focus, fingers, wrists, accuracy, transition time, etc.) Good luck -- David Thaxton
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07/11 MALLET TECHNIQUE: Here's an extension of a idea for the Foot Book posted by Monica Autry in 2007. It's great for teaching the mallet techniques: "hands separate," "hands together," and "alternating."
Left foot (Play LH twice)
Right foot (Play RH twice)
Feet, feet, feet (Together 3 times)
How many, many, many feet you meet? (Alternate hands on rhythm) And yes, I changed the words a little... I don't have enough barred instruments for everyone, so I made a row of barred instruments with boomwhackers in lines behind each. (2 BW's per student) BWs played the same LH, RH, Together, alternating patterns as the bars. Then, we rotated ala Mallet Madness style.
http://www.box.net/shared/mgqj1qvzfl ---- Lee Cain
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WATER BOTTLE XYLOPHONE Instructions http://www.philtulga.com/water.html
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12/03 PERIPOLE INSTRUMENTS I tried the chromatic synthetic Peripole instruments at AOSA and was very impressed with the sound. I don't like most synthetic bars (and am a snob about most barred instruments) and these sounded great. Not sure if they come in different colored bars, but I liked the black ones that I saw. - Sue Woodruff
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12/03 TWINKLE LITTLE STAR Some possibilities, assuming you want to accompany yourself on the Boomwhackers (or Xylophones) Add a broken bordun - C G C G on the steady beat. This works best for us if one player has both the C and the G, similar to having two mallets. For a little more interest, make the rhythm pattern of the bordun C G-G C G / C G-G C G etc. If they can handle this, add the "cross-over" of high C from another player, making the ostinato pattern C G-G C' G (2 times per phrase). Some students play while others do the singing. A single strike by finger cymbals, triangle, or glock at the end of each phrase (every 8th beat) will give the song a little more color. While the song can certainly be harmonized with I IV V7 chords, it can also be done with just the bordun (I chord) for quick success. - Contributed by Connie Herbon
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See also: Web Site Addresses/Orff and KodalyWeb Site Addresses/Orff & Kodaly
REPERTOIRE
CHOIR GRADES 3-5
(For sacred orff ideas, click here: Children's Church Choirs
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04/03 I have been working with 1-5th grades with glockenspiels (melody bells) and they love all the following activities. They work in pairs : one pair to an instrument.1) I give them a short list of simple words that can be played on the glockenspiel. eg BAG, CAGE, . Then I issue them the challenge of finding other words.Eg.
ABE, ACE, ACED, ADA, ADAGE, ADD, ADDED, AGE, AGED, BAD, BADE, BADGE, BAG, BAGGAGE, BAGGED, BE, BEE, BEG, BEGGED, CA. (CALIFORNIA), CABBAGE, CADGE, CAGE, CAGED, DAB, DABBED, DAD, DEAD,DEAF, DEED, DEFACE, DEFACED, EDGE, EDGED, EGG, FACE, FACED, FAD, FADE, FADED, FED, FEED, GA (GEORGIA), GAB, GABE, GAG, GAGGED.
Many of the students are English language learners so it has been great for language instruction . It has also meant that the English Only students have been helping the EL's use the dictionary to find out how to use the words and what they mean. The English Only students also have found out about old words such as "gift of the gab" and "bade farewell".
2) In pairs they work out the different ways that the same word may be played. (use of different octave notes.) eg. DAD may be played four different ways if the instrument has two "D's".
3) Partner playing : one person plays a word (or two words in 4th /5th grades) with the partner watching and listening. The partner then has to play the word(s) back and say what the word is. Then they change roles.
4) Composing music: The students compose a piece of music based on some words. For upper grades : the rhythm can be 1/4 notes and 1/8 notes.
5) If the words are pentatonic the students add an ostinato bass. GAG , BAG, AGE, AGED, CAGE, BAD, BAGGAGE, etc. Other melodies : I add the accompaniment if they want one but the students have to design a percussive accompaniment.
I told them they could play the city BAGHDAD only if they used G# as H. This led to a lesson on sharps and flats. Now they want to change some of the other notes in their compositions to sharps and flats -- Contributed by Sue Michielsls
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04/03 BASS XYLOPHONE & METALLAPHONES: First, I recommend automotive "creepers" for your BX and BM instruments. Mine cost around $15. each, several years ago. Our maintenance dept. added a 1 X 1" piece of wood to the end opposite the "pillow" so the instrument will not slide off.For programs, I put glocks on "flattened" music stands (can use a carpet square to keep it from sliding), alto instruments on piano benches and soprano instruments on tables and desks.This year I am trying a different arrangement in my class to better facilitate switching instruments.
Row 1: SM & SX
Row 2: AX & AMRow 4: BX & BM (with small chairs)
Row 5: Glocks on tableI have the same number of instruments in each row and alternate metallophones and xylophones in the verticle line. The first 3 rows sit on the floor. After we play, each student moves to the instrument behind them to repeat the piece (or learn a new one). (Back row comes to the front or sits in a wait position for the front row) Sometimes I ask them to remember which instrument they played last so we can continue rotating for the next class. -- Contributed by Pat Bellar
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04/03 ORCHESTRA SEATING: I have no carts, as of yet. This is the set up I am using presently. They are all Suzuki, except for the bass bars which are Peripole. Front row - L to R - SM, AM, AX, SM 2nd row - L to R - BM, BX - These have two chairs behind each. The chairs are smaller than full size, but not as small as the kindergarten chairs. I guess you would call them 2nd/3rd grade chairs. Back row - L to R - Cymbal on boom stand, Studio 49 real head timpani (4), Bass bars C, F, and G with one chair - same size as others. There is a space to the right of this set up where I walk to get to the CD player or use the remote, when I can find it, because I am always laying it down and forgetting where. (Ardy, shhhh, quit laughing!) Yes, I am blond. To the right of this walkway is a small table just big enough for the SG and AG. I have two chairs behind each, but only use two glocks with my biggest classes. I have a comfy chair in front of all this facing the kids with a student desk to put things on next to it. I used to kneel on the floor directly in front of them so that I could demonstrate the borduns, but I just get up and walk 3 steps now and kneel down and demonstrate. When we put it all together, I find I like to sit and conduct. Now, since I have new Sonor Palisanos coming, I want to sell these, and replace them with Sonor Palisanos, but we will see. I have 3 S and 3 TA glocks, 4 SX and 4 TAX, 2 BX, 2SM, 2 TAM, 1 BM, and all the Bass bars including accidentals, coming. -- Contributed by Patricia Albritton
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04/03 ORCHESTRA SEATING: I like to have my basses setup in the front on the floor. They seem to be the ones I use most and generally they have the most important (steady beat) part, so I like to keep them close. Then I have second row sopranos and third row altos. I also have all my other instruments except for the basses on carts and this set-up seems to work well. -- Contributed by Beth Haugland
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ORCHESTRA SEATING: Last year, I had all of mine on the floor with the basses in the back since they are higher. But I found it was hard for the children to play the glocks and sopranos well since they're smaller. This year, I have them set up like this: (Back row) Bass bars SX/SM on table Glocks on table (Middle row) AX BX BM AM (Front row) AX AM I like this a lot better because the smaller instruments are easier to play for all ages except maybe kindergarten. I may even have a picture from the start of the year.....
http://www.kjsl.com/~momo/room1.jpg-- Contributed by Jennifer Schroeder
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SONGS
The Singing Bird-France/Switzerland
The Christmas Song-Gascony Folksong
O Chanukah-Traditional
Christ Lullabye-from the Hebrides
Gypsy Song- Johann von Goethe
The Snow that Falls on Christmas Eve-Brilee
Scrooge Scrooge-studio piece
For the Beauty of the Earth by Rutter
The Clouds, Cynthia Gray, piano, opt. orff accomp., Heritage, HV114, minor, ("clouds won't you tell us what those tears are for?..." Goin' up a Yonder
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COLLECTIONS
All the Orff and choir pieces came from a great collection by Diane Ladendecker Volumes 1+2 HOLIDAYS AND HOLY DAYSOrff arrangements of sacred music (original songs): Brent M. Holl & Michael Nichols
Beaten Path Publications, 302 College St., BA, 22812
540-828-6903, 704-586-4802
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CLASSROOM RULES (re: Orff instr)
RULES/ORFF 7/01 First week consists of my rules set to an Orff ostinato to start off with. I TRY to make it fun (for me, AND for them, after having to repeat it two million times...). Then I explain procedures, always including the correct way and "Now, can someone show me how NOT to come into the room?". They love that! Then I usually give them a taste of what the year will bring as far as performing, then a musical game.
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SUGGESTIONS 05/03 "A Ram Sam Sam": I have the children chant the rhythm, then adding one thing at a time -- clap the quarters, pat the 8ths, twirl hands on half notes then sing it with the K8 tape and do all the actions---ask them to listen for what the voices are doing on the tape, discuss harmony and rounds-----then have them improvise on the Orff instruments on D G D with the tape each group one time. Great review and fun too. -- Contributed by Jan RingstmeyerBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
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Piggyback Songs
Piggyback songs (Thomas Robertson) http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~thomasr/piggyback.htmlBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
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SIGN LANGUAGE SONGS
06/07 "This Land is Your Land,” "My Country 'Tis of Thee" are not too difficult
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"I love my Country” MK8 13/1, “As You Walk Through This World” 11/4 www.musick8.comBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
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SONGS ELIMINATING WORDS (such as "Bingo")
12/11 Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes
Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree
Napoleon Avait Cinq Cent Soldats
Bingo
Little Baby Rabbit had a fly upon his nose (and he flicked it and it flew away)
OOOOOOH, the horse (ask Artie)
Little Rabbit in the Woods
A Ram Sam Sam
To Stop the Train
Scotlands Burning
Oliver Twist you Can't do This
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Humpty Dumpty (chant)
Mein Hut es Hat Drei Ecken
John Brown's Baby
MK8's Jingle Bells
Doggie Doggie (sml)
Postman, Postman, did I get a letter? (sml)BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
*****************************************************************************STAR SPANGLED BANNER (ideas)
10/08 (For ‘centers’ based on the anthem, see: Center Activities)12/07 DIXIE CHICKS + photos: http://www.chaplin-nest.com/unkarock/star-spangled-banner/star-spangled- banner.htm
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12/06 STAR SPANGLED BANNER MOVIE(online) : http://www.rdimusic.com/movie.htm
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GAME: I do "Star Spangled Mix-up" game with my 2-5ths when we study the SSB this month. I wrote out the words to the SSB with 1 line per sentence strip and had them laminated. I made two sets of words and divide the class into 2 groups or teams. I have them sit on the floor in 2 circles, then I toss their strips up in the air, to land in a "mess" in the center of their circle. When I say "go", each team has to arrange the sentence strips in the correct order for the 1st verse of the SSB. You'd be amazed at how long this takes, especially for the younger ones, but they eventually get there. It's a lot of fun and really reinforces the words to the song. -- Pat Price
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12/06 HOME SITE: http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/opening.html
BOOK: Peter Spier's beautifully illustrated book, "The Star Spangled Banner" is a good resource. Three of the four verses are illustrated and depict both the history of the writing of the poem, the battle at Fort McHenry, and contemporary usages of the flag, including a poignant picture of the flag flying at the Statue of Liberty with the Twin Towers in the background. The book concludes with a history of the writing of the SSB. I've about worn my copy out! I always teach SSB in early September to all grade levels. -- Barbara Lee
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12/06 NATIONAL CODE: National Anthem of the United States of America". [Dos and Don’ts]
www.MENC.com.
It was adopted by the National Anthem Committee on April 2, 1942. -- Leslie Ritter
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12/06 VIDEO: The website: www.unitedstreaming.com (a division of www.discoveryed.com) is available free in my state to educators. It provides internet videos on a variety of subjects. The national anthem video starts with Aretha Franklin singing, followed by children, with a quite thorough history of its origin afterward. If your school has a video projector you can hook up your computer or laptop to it. These are very well made videos. There are a number of other videos in the art and music area, at a variety of different grade levels. -- 06/06 Go to http://www.tnap.org/teachermaterial/naptm_lesson01.html for really excellent lesson plans and resources on the Star Spangled Banner. I was able to cut and paste the sentence strips for each line , enlarge them then print the lines landscape format . Great resource !!!!!!! aligned to the Standards. -- Sue Michiels
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10/05 I'll be teaching the words to SSB to my K's during the next 2 rotations, and doing a review with the older kids. I have made 2 sets of sentence strips with the words of the song on them (16 strips per song), and I plan to have the classes divided into 2 teams. Each team will get a set of strips and I will mix them up on the floor. Each team will try to reconstruct the words to the SSB in order. The first team to get them right, wins. I got this idea from this list - thanks to whomever!I'm also arranging a school-wide sing-a-long celebration on the 14th (the SSB birthday), reminiscent of our big God Bless America sing-a-long we all did after 9/11. I am having our 5th grade Focus (gifted) students prepare the Reader's Theater piece in the Idea Bank, and we will video it and play it over the closed-circuit tv for the whole school to watch. Then all 1150 students will line the halls of the school and we will sing the SSB together, while waving small American flags which I am having the students make in their classes. I found a pattern for coloring their own 2-sided flags and attaching them to a pencil for a pole. Used them for GBA in 2001 and they looked great. The whole school will wear red, white, and blue clothes that day. I am notifying the local press and sending invitations to the other 60+ elem. schools in my county to join us in the celebration. Pat Price
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10/05 Check out the MENC website www.menc.org and click on the National Anthem Project. There are lesson plans and other great information there. -- Jan Morris in Muncie, IN
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10/05 I have done a compare and contrast activity with "The Star-Spangled Banner" before with a regular chorus version then Jimi's version and that was a success. - Tamela Cook
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10/05 I do an activity in 4th grade that I think I got off this list. I printed up several copies of the words of the first verse, then cut them up in strips (one line on each strip). It's amazing how many of the kids can NOT put them in order! The kids try it the very first lesson, then we spend 2-3 weeks studying it in more depth and learning to sing it. At the end, they can put the "puzzle" together quite well.-- Becky in NH
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10/05 Here are a few of my ideas...
I begin in Kindergarten by having them listen and color a flag. We listen to several versions. We read a variety of books that explain the story and act out our own version as we speak it and then sing it.. In 1st grade we continue to act it out, read a book about it and we color a flag that has the words imprinted on the white stripes. We echo read it together. We also sing with our hands on our hearts.In 2nd grade we continue to act it out, read another book about it and we color yet a different paper that has a bit more history on it. Of course we practice singing it while acting it out.
In third grade we have a wonderful packet that we complete that has the words, history and some coloring. We review the history we know, look at materials I have from the Smithsonian and discuss word meanings...and sing.
In fourth grade, we measure the size of the original flag with chalk on the parking lot outside or in the gym hanging onto yarn. We mix up the words and put them into order...and sing.
In 5th and 6th grades we sing and review history. We read yet more books about it. We do the Readers Theater that you can get from the MK8 archives. It is fabulous! We also rewrite the SSB in our own words. We have quizzes on word meanings. We do a crossword puzzle and of course sing. We also do a stick passing game. This year I have a bulletin board up at both schools that says, "Oh, Say! We Can Sing! The Star-Spangled Banner!" I will put each child's name on a star and place it on the bulletin board when they can sing, speak or write the SSB in my presence and do it correctly!
My students are already practicing this! Nothing like a little recognition to get the fire lighted beneath them. I hope that gives you some ideas. -- Kristin Lukow ~ Nebraska
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"Susan Ramsay did a wonderful bean bag activity with SSB in Tampa. The directions given were: A. Pass the bean bags in a circle using the words, pick, touch, pass. Pick up the bag with one hand, touch to the right leg or knee, and place in front of the person to the right. A. Repeat the movement in the first A section. B. Turn and face a partner. Partners toss their bean bag to their partner in the places where there is usually a cymbal crash (at the end of each two measures) C. Working alone, touch the bag to the floor, toss and catch in one hand, and then toss to the other hand. Touch, catch, catch. Put in the fermatas."BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
*****************************************************************************SONGS CHILDREN SHOULD KNOW BEFORE SEVENTH GRADE
All Through the Night, America, America the Beautiful, Auld Lang Syne, Bingo, Both Sides Now
Camptown Races, Clementine, Down in the Valley, D.A.R.E.--MK8, Don Gato, Erie Canal
Every Time I Feel the Spirit, 50 Nifty United States, Follow the Drinkin' Gourd, The Garden Song.
Grand Old Flag, He's Got the Whole world, Home on the Range, I Got Rhythm
I've been working on the railroad, I Love the Mountains, It's a Small World, Lift Every Voice and Sing
Michael Row your Boat Ashore, My Favorite Things, No More Pie (Ella Jenkins)
The Skunk Song (campfire song), Oh Suzanna, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Over the Rainbow
Peace Like a River, Sarasponda, Star Spangled Banner, Telephone Song, This Land, This Old Man
UNITED WE SING--MK8, Wade in the Water, We Shall Overcome, What a Wonderful World
When Johnny Comes Marching Home, When Saints go Marching In, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Yankee Doodle, You're a Grand Old Flag
HIT PARADE
The Music Education National Conference released a list of 42 songs the group says every American should know:Amazing Grace, America (My Country 'Tis of Thee), America the Beautiful, Battle Hymn of the Republic
Blue Skies, Danny Boy, De Colores, Dona Nobis Pacem, Do-Re-Mi, Down by the Riverside
Frere Jacques, Give my Regards to Broadway, God Bless America, God Bless the U.S.A.
Green, Green Grass of Home, Havah Nagilah, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, Home on the Range
I've Been Working on the Railroad, If I Had a Hammer, Let There Be Peace on Earth
Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing, Michael, Row the Boat Ashore, Music Alone Shall Live
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Oh! Susanna, Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Over my Head
Puff the Magic Dragon, Rock-A-My-Soul, kura, Scarborough Fair, Shalom Chaverim
She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain, Shenandoah, Simple Gifts, Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child
The Star Spangled Banner, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, THE TEST, they all make 100
This Land is Your Land, This Little Light of Mine, Yesterday
WE ALL SING WITH THE SAME VOICE--Sesame Street, Zip-A-Dee-Doo
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************Train Songs
See also: Theme Music Ideas: P-Z/Trains"The Midnight Train and the 'Fo' Day Train" in Scarborough, "On the Trail of the Negro Folk Song" This song has recurring words which the audience can learn very quickly.
"Train is a-Coming" in Ruth Crawford Seeger, "American Folk Songs for Children"
This song also has recurring words in which the audience can join in. Furthermore, you can give individual children attention in the stanzas which begin "_____ will be the engineer," "_____ will be the conductor," and so on. If I remember correctly, Pete Seeger sings this song on one of his records. Or am I getting my Seegers mixed up?I entered the word "train" in the University of Tennessee Song Index and got 42 song titles. Any song searchers out there, whether interested in train songs or otherwise, you might do well to bookmark this address: http://toltec.lib.utk.edu/~music/forms/Song_Form.html
BACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
***********************************************************************WEBSITES
10/12 MANY RESOURES HERE: http://www.rcsdk12.org/197310105144747820/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=56077
Classroom Instruments and Instrument Song Cards , Importance of Music and Movement , Movement Activities , Music Center , Music and Literature Connection , Nursery Rhymes, Parent Child Song Book, Song Cards Songs and Chants for Daily Routines , Teacher Resource Books
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02/05 American Folksong Collection: 299 songs annotated with sheet music, text and analysis:
www.kodaly.hnu.edu
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http://songsforteaching.homestead.com/index.html This has a variety of lesson plans, tips, song ideas etc. for grades 1 thru 8 AFI 100 year.....100 songs at www.musicnotes.com From the TV program last week of the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie songs in the last 100 years. They list all 100 songs and have sheet music available if you wish to purchase it. I thought the list interesting. -- Contributed by Johanna from OhioBACK to Elementary Repertoire topics
(Just click on the category you want to view)
(See also #35 Partner Songs, Rounds)